Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday asserted that the Indian National Congress has been the “proud flagbearer” of Vande Mataram, which awakened the collective soul of the nation and became the rallying cry for India’s freedom struggle.
In a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Kharge alleged that both organisations — who call themselves “self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism” — have never sung Vande Mataram or the national anthem Jana Gana Mana in their shakhas or offices.
‘Vande Mataram embodies the unity and spirit of Bharat Mata’
On the 150th anniversary of India’s national song, Kharge, in a detailed statement, said Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, embodies the essence of Bharat Mata and celebrates the unity and diversity of India.
“The Indian National Congress has been the proud flagbearer of Vande Mataram. It was during the 1896 session of the Congress in Calcutta, under the leadership of President Rahmatullah Sayani, that Vande Mataram was sung publicly for the first time by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore,” Kharge said.
He added that the song infused new life into India’s freedom movement, countering the British Empire’s divisive “policy of divide and rule.”
Historic Symbol of Resistance
Kharge noted that from the Partition of Bengal in 1905 to the final moments of India’s revolutionary movement, Vande Mataram echoed across the nation.
“It was the title of Lala Lajpat Rai’s publication, inscribed on Bhikaji Cama’s flag raised in Germany, and appeared in Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil’s Kranti Gitanjali,” he said, adding that “terrified by its popularity, the British banned it — for it had become the heartbeat of India’s freedom struggle.”
He cited Mahatma Gandhi’s 1915 writings, where Gandhi described Vande Mataram as “the most powerful battle cry among Hindus and Musalmans of Bengal during the Partition days — an anti-imperialist cry.”
Kharge also recalled Jawaharlal Nehru’s 1938 statement, saying that Vande Mataram had, for more than three decades, been directly associated with Indian nationalism — “a people’s song that could neither be manufactured nor imposed.”
Congress’s Formal Recognition
In 1937, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly began reciting Vande Mataram under Speaker Purshottam Das Tandon, Kharge said. The same year, the Indian National Congress formally recognised Vande Mataram as the national song, reaffirming its position as a symbol of India’s unity in diversity.
‘RSS and BJP Avoid the National Song’
Taking a direct swipe at the RSS and BJP, Kharge alleged:
“It is deeply ironic that those who claim to be the guardians of nationalism — the RSS and the BJP — have never sung Vande Mataram or Jana Gana Mana in their shakhas or offices. Instead, they continue to sing Namaste Sada Vatsale, a song glorifying their organisation, not the nation.”
He further alleged that since its founding in 1925, the RSS has avoided Vande Mataram entirely — with no mention of it in any of its texts or literature.
Kharge went on to accuse the Sangh Parivar of having “supported the British against Indians during the national movement, refusing to hoist the national flag for 52 years, insulting the Constitution, burning effigies of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and, in the words of Sardar Patel, being involved in Gandhi ji’s assassination.”
‘Congress Reaffirms Its Faith in Vande Mataram’
Kharge said the Congress has always sung both Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana at every gathering, symbolising India’s unity and pride.
“From 1896 to this day, Vande Mataram has been sung with pride and patriotism at every Congress meeting, big or small. The Congress reaffirms its unshakable faith in Vande Mataram, the eternal song of our motherland — the clarion call of unity and the voice of India’s undying spirit,” Kharge said.
Jairam Ramesh Recalls Historical Context
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, recalled that Rabindranath Tagore first sang Vande Mataram at the December 1896 session of the Congress in Kolkata.
He noted that in 2003, historian Sabyasachi Bhattacharya published a definitive biography of the song, and that Tagore himself later played a decisive role in shaping its position in Indian public life, as reflected in the Congress Working Committee resolution of October 29, 1937.
