‘Anandamath’: The Revolutionary Roots of ‘Vande Mataram’

Of course, like any other child in India, I had heard the patriotic song, ” Vande Mataram”! As kids in the 1950s we sang this along with the adult members of our families. It had the honour of being called the National Song. After all “Vande Mataram” had been a galvanizing force in the Freedom movement which culminated in India getting indolence on August 15, 1947.

However here’s a confession! Until recently I had no idea that the song had been written by the famous Bengali novelist and poet, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee as far back as 1875 ! It got more prominence when it appeared in his Bengali novel called, “Anandamath”. This novel published in 1882 is considered a landmark of Bengali and Indian literature. I had erroneously believed that it dated back to the early years of the twentieth century and hence had become popular in the freedom movement. I did not realise that Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-1894) had passed away even before the partition of Bengal in 1905-06. This was one of the first movements in which “Vande Mataram” became a rallying cry for the freedom fighters.

There has been renewed interest in the origins of the song- and therefore in the book ” Anandmath” due to recent developments in India. On hearing about the origins of “Vande Mataram” our National Song, I lost no time in ordering the English translation of the book. I would have loved to read the original Bengali version but sadly I cannot read that language. The book is available in English, Hindi etc in Amazon India. I understand that the novel is set in the 1770s when sanyasis and fakirs in Bengal revolted against the British especially when the province was struck by the Great Bengal Famine. This actually makes it the first revolt against the British ( then the East India Company) as it happened much before 1857 – acknowledged to be India’s First War of Independence.

“Vande Mataram” ( I Bow To Thee, My Mother”) a poem honoring Mother India is in six stanzas. It was sung in its entirety from the 1890s till 1937. It was in 1937 that some members of the Muslim community objected to the stanzas beyond the second stanza. This was because the author/poet visualized Mother India to be a Goddess and the poem had imagery with reference to the Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. In 1937, the Indian National Congress then decided that only the first two stanzas would be recited. That, then, became the established practice.

How has the 1882 book come into the limelight in 2026? The Government of India recently amended the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971 to include the National Song in its ambit along with ‘Jana Gana Mana” (the National Anthem) , the National Flag and the Constitution of India. The Government’s position is that the National Song has to be sung in its entirety. The Congress Party ( which leads the Opposition in India) seems to have a different view. From several actions involving their leaders, over the past few weeks, it appears they are adamant in restricting the National Song to the first two stanzas.

In India, almost everything goes to the Courts. I am sure in due course of time the Supreme Court of India will be called upon to give their judgement on what is right and what is wrong from the legal standpoint. This apart there will be political ramifications as well.

As a writer and a voracious reader, I am fascinated by the fact that current events have brought to the fore a book written over 140 years ago!