The RSS-BJP combine is always on the lookout for issues that sow communal divisiveness among the general public rather than fostering a sense of unity. 'Vande Mataram' is one such issue. Those who — far from singing Vande Mataram — never even uttered the slogan during the freedom struggle, and whose lips always voiced only "Namaste Sada Vatsale Matribhume," suddenly positioned themselves as the staunchest supporters of Vande Mataram after independence. They raised the slogan: "If you want to live in India, you must say "Vande Mataram." Twelve years after coming to power, they have now orchestrated a new charade : singing all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, a process that takes over three minutes. Flexing their parliamentary muscle, they even pushed a law through Parliament placing Vande Mataram on par with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The reality is that the law itself imposes no obligation to sing Vande Mataram — let alone all six stanzas. However, through executive directives issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the threat of punishment is being used to coerce people into singing the entire song. Refusing to comply with these directives, the Congress party has decided to sing only the first two stanzas — as was the practice previously — in keeping with the secular and inclusive spirit of the national movement. The RSS-BJP is rattled by this decision, as it sees its campaign for communal polarization failing.

The true intention of the Sangh-BJP is to replace Jana Gana Mana with Vande Mataram. It has never respected either Babasaheb’s Constitution or Rabindranath Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana. Had it truly respected the Constitution, it would not have trifled with constitutional concepts and values. Our Constituent Assembly had adopted Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem only after careful deliberation. This discourse involved not only Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru but also the 'Iron Man' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel —who had imposed a ban on the RSS. They all supported Jana Gana Mana because the poem reflects an 'Idea of India' that acknowledges diversity and the spirit of inclusivity, embracing people of all religions — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, etc.— as well as all languages and regions. The Sangh, which thrives on the fertilizer and water of communal hatred, detests the very concept of the 'Idea of India.' That is precisely why it also loathes Jana Gana Mana. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker walking out midway during the singing of the National Anthem is a manifestation of this attitude. The BJP government ought to be the first to register a case against this individual for insulting the National Anthem and the National Flag. If the Sangh-BJP's patriotism were truly genuine, they would have enacted a law mandating the singing of the full verses of Jana Gana Mana rather than Vande Mataram.

No community in our country has ever objected to singing the original two verses of Vande Mataram. Among the lakhs of people who laid down their lives while singing it and raising slogans during the freedom struggle, not a single one belonged to the 'Sanghi' Gang.  These two verses present a magnificent image of an India that is 'Sujalam-Suphalam' (rich in water and fertile). However, it is an established and verified fact of literary history that Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote the remaining verses of Vande Mataram much later for his novel Anand Math and appended them to the poem. These verses constitute a hymn and an invocation to the Goddess-power (Devi-Shakti) for the massacre of Muslims. Due to its communal undertones, the novel — and the verses added later — have always been controversial ; the people of our country never accepted them during the anti-colonial struggle. Therefore, this was not merely a matter of opposition by the Muslim community, as the Sangh-BJP is propagating. In fact, it was Acharya Kripalani who first questioned the suitability of this song. Thus, Jana Gana Mana represents our anti-colonial nationalism, whereas the later verses of Vande Mataram represent the communal nationalism that the RSS-BJP has championed since its very inception.

Today, the Sangh is attempting to impose this very communal nationalism upon the people of the country. This is why it is bent on making Vande Mataram the litmus test of patriotism ; by intimidating the minority community and driving home the message that they have been reduced to second-class citizens, it seeks to appease its Hindutva supporters and push the nation towards becoming a 'Hindu Rashtra' through communal polarization.

It is also important to note the historical fact that Bankim Chandra Chatterjee served as a Deputy Magistrate under British rule. During a period when freedom fighters across the country were facing the wrath of the British, Bankim was a favorite of the British authorities ; this was because his work, Anandamath, served British interests by driving a communal wedge among the public. The RSS was engaged in precisely the same activity during the freedom movement. In 1942, when the entire nation was battling British rule with the spirit of "Do or Die," the Sanghi Giroh — led by the "Maafiveer" (apologist) Savarkar — was urging the country's youth to enlist in the British imperial army, raising slogans like "Hinduize the nation and militarize Hindutva." It is evident that both Bankim Chandra and the RSS were pro-British and anti-Muslim in character. This explains the immense affection the Sangh harbors for Bankim Chandra.

Neither during the freedom movement nor after independence has the Sangh ever felt any affinity for the Constitution or national symbols. They dismissed the Constitution —drafted and adopted by the Constituent Assembly under Ambedkar’s leadership — as being inspired by foreign concepts and demanded the implementation of the Manusmriti in its place. They labeled the three colors of the Tricolour inauspicious and demanded the adoption of the saffron flag. They also object to the Ashoka Chakra on the national flag, claiming it reeks of imperialism. But which imperialism? After all, they passionately love British and — now — American imperialism. The reference here is to Emperor Ashoka’s Buddhist empire, which stood defiantly against Brahminism ; this history is precisely why the Sangh harbors deep-seated hatred for Ashoka and his Chakra — a symbol interpreted as representing love, equality, and brotherhood. This hatred runs so deep that the facial expressions of the lions on the Ashoka Pillar atop the Parliament building were distorted — so much so that they appear contrary to the original masterpiece. Consequently, for the RSS-BJP combine and it's affiliated organisations, symbols like the Tricolour and Vande Mataram do not represent patriotism ; rather, they serve as tools to exploit the patriotic sentiments of the people for their own communal interests. Were this not the case, the Sanghi Giroh would never have dared to hold a rally waving the Tricolour in support of the rapists involved in the infamous 2018 Kathua case.

The Sangh-BJP is stoking this controversy at a time when 'Gen-Z' is agitating over the fundamental issues facing the public. This movement has tarnished the 'all-powerful' image that the Sangh — aided by 'Godi Media' — had cultivated over the past 12 years, and the Modi government's policies are facing stiff challenges both inside and outside Parliament. Their only tried-and-tested method to escape this predicament is to draw even more aggressively from their communal quiver. But perhaps this cunning strategy will no longer work. After all, mass solidarity rooted in people's struggles has always proven to be far greater and stronger than any form of communal mobilization. This is both a lesson and a legacy of our anti-imperialist struggle —something with which the Sangh clique has absolutely no connection.


The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.