New Delhi/Himachal Pradesh:** Former Union Minister and MP from Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, while participating today in the Lok Sabha discussion on the completion of 150 years of the national song Vande Mataram, said that Vande Mataram gives energy to patriots but acts as an allergy to anti-nationals. Vande Mataram is not merely a song; it is the ritual of patriotism, and the Congress is terrified of it.
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur said, “Vande Mataram is not a religious song, nor the song of any individual, party, or state. Vande Mataram is the song of the soul of the nation, the song of India’s glory, the melodious song of the hopes and aspirations of every Indian. The portions of Vande Mataram that the Congress removed on Jawaharlal Nehru’s instructions… those portions contained the praise of Maa Durga, the worship of Shakti. Removing those portions was like tearing apart the soul of India. The Congress & Company have committed a great sin against Vande Mataram. Today, as we celebrate the 150th year of the creation of that great mantra, the Congress can atone for that great sin if it wishes. But expecting such good sense from a Congress leadership surrounded by radical communism and a League mentality is futile.”
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur further said, “To please Jinnah and the League mentality, Nehru ji truncated and shortened Vande Mataram. In 1947, to keep that same Jinnah happy, they divided India into two pieces. Even 78 years after independence, the Congress party is doing dirty politics over Vande Mataram to keep Jinnah’s ‘munnas’ happy. India’s national song ‘Vande Mataram’ cannot be a matter of choice or reluctance. Does bowing one’s head before the motherland, saluting Bharat Mata, really hurt anyone’s religious sentiments?”
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur said, “There is a competition among the Congress and some other parties as to who can oppose Vande Mataram the most. What kind of mentality is this that the very words, the very poem that created a surge of nationalism and gave us the courage to fight the British, cause discomfort to a few people… The same Vande Mataram for which thousands of freedom fighters sacrificed their lives; the Vande Mataram whose tune was composed by the world poet Rabindranath Tagore; the Vande Mataram to which Lata Didi lent her voice; the Vande Mataram that was the salute of revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Madan Lal Dhingra, Veer Savarkar, Ram Prasad Bismil; the Vande Mataram because of which Dr. Hedgewar was expelled from school; the Vande Mataram in support of which Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was exiled; the Vande Mataram that has received the honour of being the national song, why do some people still have a problem with it?”
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur added, “Vande Mataram was praised by Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Khudiram Bose, Ram Prasad Bismil, and all the great revolutionaries. Vande Mataram received love from luminaries of every state of India. The nationalist poet from Tamil Nadu, Subramania Bharati, translated it into Tamil in 1905 and 1908. When Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram in 1896, his brother Abanindranath Tagore painted Bharat Mata. The renowned singer Master Krishnarao fought hard for it he refused to perform on All India Radio for years, saying, ‘If Vande Mataram is not played on radio, none of my songs will be either.’ Countless national poets, patriotic films, and famous singers like Lata Mangeshkar ji, A.R. Rahman ji, and Hemant Kumar ji gave Vande Mataram complete respect. Yet, only for the sake of vote-bank politics, the Congress has always insulted it.
In 1896, at the 12th Congress session in Calcutta, this song was sung by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore himself, and the session was presided over by a Muslim, Rahimtulla M. Sayani at that time, the song was not considered anti-Muslim… In 1905, in Barisal (Bengal), Chittaranjan Guha Thakurta shed his blood for Vande Mataram; in 1907, Sushil Chandra Sen was sentenced to flogging for singing Vande Mataram; in 1908, Khudiram Bose went to the gallows shouting Vande Mataram; in 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra was hanged in London shouting Vande Mataram; in 1927, Ram Prasad Bismil went to the gallows shouting Vande Mataram; in 1931, when Dinesh Chandra Gupta raised the cry of Vande Mataram in Calcutta jail, hundreds of prisoners shook the bars and made the British tremble with sky-rending shouts of Vande Mataram.
Even today, Vande Mataram remains a beloved song of unity and patriotism, even though ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was chosen as the national anthem and every Indian respects our national anthem equally.”