Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in a Lok Sabha discussion to mark 150 years of 'Vande Mataram' - the song written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in November 1875 and which quickly became a rallying cry for freedom fighters in the battle to liberate India from British colonial rule.
Today, it has become a battleground between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its arch-rival, the Congress, with the former accusing the latter of having disrespected it by "pandering to a communal agenda" at its 1937 session and adopting a truncated version as the country's National Song.
But the Congress has argued the decision was based on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore and was meant to accommodate the feelings of members from other communities and religions.
The Congress has also responded by claiming the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, routinely 'avoids' the song; party boss Mallikarjun Kharge called it "deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the guardians of nationalism have never sung 'Vande Mataram'..."
READ | Bankim Chandra Chatterjee: The Man Who Wrote 'Vande Mataram'
At the heart of this row are six stanzas in which Chatterjee referenced Hindu goddess Durga, Kamala (or Lakshmi), and Saraswathi, framing them as India's "perfect without peer" feminine guardians.
So what is the 'Vande Mataram' row?
In 1937 the Congress, then led by ex-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, decided to use only the first two stanzas for national gatherings. The argument was that direct references to Hindu goddesses were not well-received by some members of the Muslim community; they were seen as 'exclusionary'.
The resolution read: "Taking all things into consideration, therefore, the Committee recommends that whenever 'Vande Mataram' is sung at national gatherings, only the first two stanzas should be sung".
However, the Congress also acknowledged the freedom of any individual to "sing any other song… in addition to, or in place of, the 'Vande Mataram' song".
But the BJP has now argued the exclusions illustrate the Congress' 'divisive' plans; Prime Minister Modi said dropping the stanzas "sowed the seeds of the nation's division", referring to the Partition.
"In 1937, a portion of 'Vande Mataram' was severed... it was torn apart. The division sowed the seeds of the nation's division. It is important for today's generation to understand why..." he said in November.
'Nehru deliberately removed Ma Durga stanzas': BJP
Last month BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan kickstarted the row by posting on X letters to Nehru had written to Netaji Subhas Bose, in September and October 1937.
"Nehru spitefully writes that anybody considering the words in Vande Mataram as anything to do with a goddess was absurd," Kesavan declared in his X post, although the referred section in the September letter suggests Nehru meant such an interpretation of the lyrics is absurd, and not the person.
READ | "Nehru Removed Ma Durga Stanzas": BJP On 'Vande Mataram'
Referring to these excerpts, Kesavan said, "He (Jawaharlal Nehru) went on to say 'there does seem some substance in it', i.e., regarding outcry against 'Vande Mataram', and that 'people who are communistically inclined have been affected by it'."
In his letters Nehru suggested the stanzas need not be interpreted as having anything to do with goddesses or divine figures; "… that interpretation is absurd… I think the whole song and all the words in it are thoroughly harmless and nobody can take exception," the Congress leader wrote.
NDTV Explains | 'Vande Mataram' Row: What Stanzas Did Congress Drop, And Why
The lyrics, Nehru also wrote, are "out of keeping with modern notions of nationalism". He also wrote, "... we cannot pander to communalists' feelings but to meet real grievances where they exist."
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