2016-12-20 Tue

I praise thee, Mother. I bow to thee Mother
- Translation in English of Vande Mataram’s 1st line

Vande Mataram is not only the praise of motherland, but it was the slogan of freedom which is more than 100 years old. In 1905 AD the partition of Bengal reformed the course of Indian Independent Movement and Vande Matram turned into the revolutionary War Cry, the Freedom Cry.

Vande Mataram was composed by Bankimchandra Chatterjee(Chattopadhyay) in 1876. It was also published in his novel Anandamath (Abode of Bliss) in 1882. This poem was translated into many different languages, but originally it was composed in Bengali and Sanskrit.

This poem was ornamented with music by Rabindranath Tagore. He also sang it for the first time in All Indian congress session in Calcutta in 1896 AD. This song in Tagore’s voice was recorded and was released commercially by Hemendra Mohan Bose in 1907.

The fame of this song reached abroad when Netaji Subhaschandra Bose the supreme commander of Azad Hind Fouz(INA) set this song into the tune that was used as the marching song. It was broadcasted on the radios in Singapore during World War I. Later when Gopal Krishna Gokhale visited South Africa in 1912, a mammoth gathering greeted him at Capetown with the slogan ‘Vande Mataram‘.

This song had such an impact on people that the British government tried to prohibit the shouting of Vande Mataram in schools, Colleges and Public places. This resulted in ‘lathee charge’ and imprisonment of Masses throughout the undivided India.

To celebrate and remember the impact on this poem in the form of Slogan during Indian freedom struggle Indian post issued a 25 paisa commemorative stamp on 30th December 1976. This stamp consists of the first stanza of the poem Vande Mataram.

Vande Mataram had a very important role in Indian independent struggle and was given equal status to “Jana Gana Mana”- Indian National Anthem.