"Bengal Neglects Bankim Chatterjee": Great Grandson Amid Vande Mataram Debate

The Bengal government "neglects" Bankim Chandra Chatterjee - the man who wrote the song 'Vande Mataram' - but the Centre respects him, Sajal Chattopadhyay, the Bengal icon's great-grandson, told NDTV on Monday. His comment comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is initiating a debate on the 150-year-old song 'Vande Mataram' in the Parliament.

"Bankim Chatterjee is an iconic name. He had kept the Britishers in control. But the previous Indian government neglected him and his legacy for a long time. They even neglect it now. He is used politically. The central government respects Bankim Chatterjee, but the Bengal government neglects him," Chattopadhyay said.

He said that the Centre has been in touch with his family to seek their suggestions.

"In 2018, Amit Shah met our family in Kolkata. There was no election then. The state government's mindset I cannot understand," he said.

Chattopadhyay said his family has a couple of demands.

"We want Bankim Bhavan and a university to be constructed in the country to uphold his legacy. In Parliament, 'Jana Gana Mana' plays first vocally, and then Vande Mataram at the end instrumentally. We want it to be played vocally too," he said.

A political row broke out last month when Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of dropping important stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' during the 1937 session of the party in Faizabad. He said that the grand old party's decisions "sowed the seeds of Partition" and "dissected the national song into pieces".

The Congress, however, claimed the decision was based on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore and amounted to the accommodation of feelings of members from other communities and faiths. Congress also demanded an apology from the BJP, and accused the ruling party of "insulting" the Congress Working Committee (CWC) of 1937 - which had issued a statement on the national song, as well as Rabindranath Tagore.

Earlier, a political confrontation had erupted just before the start of the Winter Session as the Rajya Sabha Secretariat reiterated that MPs must refrain from using expressions such as 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jai Hind' inside Parliament to maintain decorum. The Opposition accused the BJP-led NDA of being uncomfortable with symbols of India's Independence and unity.