PM Modi
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi Monday accused Congress of betraying ‘Vande Mataram’ and bowing to pressure from Mohammed Ali Jinnah to “divide” it despite Mahatma Gandhi’s praise that the patriotic song had become like a national anthem, saying the party meted out the “grave injustice” due to its appeasement politics.Initiating a discussion in Lok Sabha on the national song’s 150th anniversary, Modi traced its evolution to becoming a rallying cry for patriots and unifying spirit against the British rule, including in the popular agitation against Bengal’s division in 1905.He said Gandhi, who then practised law in South Africa, had recognised its immense appeal in Bengal. Quoting Gandhi’s statements on the song in a weekly, Indian Opinion, in 1905, Modi said: “it is so popular that (it is almost) as if it has become our national anthem. Its sentiments are great, and it is sweeter than anthems of other nations. Its sole motive is to ignite the patriotic spirit in us. It sees India as mother and worships her”.
Modi: Nehru compromised instead of taking on Jinnah
If it was such a great song, then why was it betrayed in the last century?” asked PM Narendra Modi before taking aim at first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. “Which were the forces whose wishes prevailed on the sentiments of revered Bapu? A sacred song like ‘Vande Mataram’ was dragged into controversy,” he said, in reference to Congress’s decision in 1937 to confine its recital to the first two paras. The current generation must know the reasons behind the betrayal of a song which had frightened the British so much that they banned it and repressed those who chanted it as a nationalist slogan. He also took a swipe at Trinamool Congress, saying parties having Congress in their name keep raising controversy around the song, which often draws criticism from a section of Muslims for its vivid Hindu themes, including invocation of deities. Modi appeared to be responding to critics, who have found the song’s imagery of nation as agoddess objectionable, with a strong articulation of cultural nationalism, a foundational guide to the Sangh Parivar, as he noted that even the Vedas have visualised India as a mother.Modi’s over 55-minute speech was heard without any serious disruption, and he made a concession to TMC MP Saugata Roy when the latter rose to object to his use of ‘da’ and not the more respectful ‘babu’ after the songwriter Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s first name, thanking him for the suggestion. Modi used the suffix “babu” for Bankim from that point onwards.With the song’s association with Bengali icons like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindra Nath Tagore, who set it to music, BJP hopes to deepen its connect with the people of West Bengal, which goes to the polls in a few months, as it takes on CM Mamata Banerjee-headed Trinamool which has often championed its regional identity to corner its main rival.Modi said when Jinnah protested on Oct 15, 1937, against the song, which was sung in Congress sessions, Nehru, as the president of his party, felt insecure and “agreed” with the Muslim League leader’s criticism by writing to Subhas Chandra Bose that its Anandmath background may irritate and provoke Muslims. Nehru compromised instead of taking on Jinnah and the Congress, at its Kolkata session on Oct 26 pruned the song to its first two paras, he said, hammering home the irony of that conclave being organised in Chatterjee’s state.He added, “History is witness that Congress bowed down to Muslim League. Due to its appeasement politics, Congress bent to divide Vande Mataram, and that is why it had to bow down to the division of India later.”With the national song a fixture at BJP events, Modi said his party owed a debt to Vande Mataram that it needed to repay by ensuring it got its due. Go to Source
