Sudha Murty's Patriotic Plea: Why Vande Mataram Must Connect with the Next Generation

Speaking to IANS outside Parliament, Sudha Murty said, “I enjoyed Vande Mataram as a child. It was deeply patriotic and closely connected with India’s freedom struggle. I hope the next generation will also connect with it and enjoy it.”

On Tuesday, Murty urged the Union government to make the national song compulsory in the primary and high school curriculum, saying it is essential for instilling patriotism and preserving the nation’s cultural memory.

Participating in the discussion in the Upper House marking 150 years of the song, Murty said she was speaking “not as an MP, philanthropist or author, but as a daughter of Mother India.”

Describing India as a “quilt made of many colours,” she added, “The thread and needle binding them together is Vande Mataram.” She emphasised that the idea of the motherland extends far beyond maps and flags: “It is not just a piece of land; it is the motherland.”

Murty noted that while children are taught the national anthem Jana Gana Mana, they are not taught Vande Mataram. “It takes just three more minutes to teach Vande Mataram,” she said.

Recalling the song’s power during the freedom struggle, Murty said it served as a rallying cry during a period when people had “lost confidence” under colonial rule. “Vande Mataram rose like a volcano exploding lava… It was a magic touch that made even cowards stand up,” she said, recounting stories from her hometown of Hubli about local resistance to British rule.

She stressed that the song symbolised sacrifice and the arduous journey to independence. “We did not get our freedom on a silver plate. People sacrificed. That struggle is associated with Vande Mataram,” she said.

Urging the Education Ministry to take action, Murty said the song should be taught during children’s formative years. “Patriotism always accompanies compassion, sacrifice, and care for the land. Vande Mataram describes all of this,” she said.

For generations, Vande Mataram—an invocation of India as the motherland—has served as both an emotional and ideological anchor for the freedom movement. Written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and later included in his novel Anandamath in the early 1880s, the song sparked patriotic fervour and helped unify diverse groups against British rule. This year marks 150 years since its composition.

However, the parliamentary sessions convened this week to commemorate the anniversary diverged sharply from the consensus. Instead of being a moment of collective celebration, the debate turned contentious. Senior BJP leaders, including the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha and Home Minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha, argued that the Indian National Congress’s 1937 decision to limit the song’s use contributed to communal tensions that eventually led to Partition. They claimed that political appeasement surrounding the song emboldened the Muslim League and strengthened its demand for Pakistan.

The Opposition firmly rejected these assertions. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking in the Lok Sabha, and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, addressing the Rajya Sabha, contextualised the historical decisions taken by national leaders and questioned the need to reopen long-settled debates. Vadra argued that Parliament would better serve citizens by addressing pressing contemporary concerns rather than relitigating the past. Kharge similarly criticised what he described as attempts to weaponise history for political gains.

- IANS