Vande Mataram

Vande Mataram was one of the most popular songs of protest (against British rule) during the India's struggle for independence. The British, in response banned the book and made the recital of the song a crime!

The British government imprisoned many independence activists for disobeying the order. However many repeatedly violated the ban by gathering together before British officials and singing it!

Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram in 1896 at the Calcutta Congress Session held at Beadon Square. 

Dakhina Charan Sen sang it five years later in 1901 at another session of the Congress at Calcutta. Poet Sarala Devi Chaudurani sang the song in the Benares Congress Session in 1905.

 Lala Lajpat Rai started a journal called Vande Mataram from Lahore.

Hiralal Sen made India's first political film in 1905 which ended with the chant of Vande Mata ram.

 Matangini Hazra's last words when she was shot to death by the British police were Vande Mataram.

In 1907, Bhikaiji Cama (1861–1936) created the first version of India's national flag (the Tiranga) in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907. It had Vande Mataram written on it in the middle band.

A book titled Kranti Geetanjali published by Arya Printing Press (Lahore) and Bharatiya Press (Dehradun) in 1929 contains first two stanzas of this lyric on page 11 as Matra Vandana and a ghazal (Vande Mataram) composed by Bismil was also given on its back, i.e. page 12.

The book written by the famous martyr of Kakori Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil was forbidden by the then British government of India.

Mahatama Gandhi supported adoption and the singing of the Vande Mataram song. In January 1946, in a speech in Guwahati (Assam), he urged that "Jai Hind should not replace Vande-mataram". He reminded everyone present that Vande-mataram was being sung since the inception of the Congress. He supported the "Jai Hind" greeting, but remanded that this greeting should not be to the exclusion of Vande Mataram. Gandhiji was concerned that those who discarded Vande Mataram, given the tradition of sacrifice behind it, one day would discard "Jai Hind" also!

'Vande Mataram’ is the national song of India. It was written by Mr. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to praise the "Mother India" on 7th November, 1875, and was published in a Bengali fiction novel named ‘Anandmath’. 

Vande Mataram is the most disputed song in the Indian political arena. People of a particular religion donot sing this national song because this is written in the worship of an individual i.e. Mother India. So they argue that the worship of statues is prohibited in their religion, hence they donot sing it!

The title 'Vande Mataram or Bande Mataram' means "I praise thee, Mother" or "I praise to thee, Mother".

The term "mataram (माताराम)" in the first line means the motherland of India or the Bangamata (Mother Bengal) and Bharat Mata (Mother India).

It was adopted on January 24, 1950, by providing it equal status with national anthem Jana Gana Mana.

Vande Mataram

Jai Hind!