Modi Accuses Congress of Divisive Mindset Over 'Vande Mataram' Stanzas

PTI, New Delhi, Nov 7, 2025 : In an apparent attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said important stanzas of the national song "Vande Mataram" were dropped in 1937, which sowed the seeds of partition and asserted that such a "divisive mindset" is still a challenge for the country.

The Prime Minister made these comments while inaugurating the year-long commemoration of "Vande Mataram" to mark 150 years of the national song. He also released a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.

"Vande Mataram became the voice of India's freedom struggle, it expressed the feelings of every Indian. Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas of Vande Mataram—a part of its soul—were separated. The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of partition. Today's generation needs to know why this injustice was done with this 'mahamantra' of nation-building. This divisive mindset is still a challenge for the country," he said.

Noting that "Vande Mataram" is relevant in every era, the Prime Minister, in an apparent reference to Operation Sindoor, said, "When the enemy dared to attack our security and honour using terrorism, the world saw that India knows how to take the form of Durga." " When adversaries dared to attack India's security and honour through terrorism, the world saw that while New India "embodies the spirit of 'Kamala and Vimala' in service to humanity, it also knows how to become Durga - the wielder of ten weapons - for the destruction of terror."

On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India officially adopted "Vande Mataram" as the national song, giving it enduring significance. According to various accounts, a truncated version of "Vande Mataram," keeping only the first two of the original six stanzas, was chosen as the national song in 1937 by the Congress after a committee recommended the adoption.

Earlier in the day, the BJP alleged that the Congress party, "brazenly pandering to its communal agenda under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru," adopted only a truncated "Vande Mataram" as the party's national song in 1937.

"The Congress committed the historic sin and blunder of linking the song with religion. Congress under Nehru, citing religious grounds, deliberately removed stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' which hailed Goddess Ma Durga," BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan charged in a post on X.

The Congress hit back at Prime Minister Modi after his attack on the party over the dropping of stanzas from "Vande Mataram" in 1937, saying Rabindranath Tagore himself had suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted, and it was "shameful" of the Prime Minister to accuse the Nobel laureate of harbouring a divisive ideology.

The Congress hit back at Modi, saying Rabindranath Tagore himself had suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted and it was "shameful" of the Prime Minister to accuse the Nobel laureate of harbouring a divisive ideology. The Opposition party also demanded an apology from Modi over his statement.

Reacting to the Prime Minister's remarks, Congress General Secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, shared extracts from Sabyasachi Bhattacharya's definitive biography of "Vande Mataram", giving the background of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution of October 29, 1937, that adopted the song.

"Three days before the meeting, on October 26, 1937, Tagore wrote to (Jawaharlal) Nehru on this issue. It was the Gurudev himself—with his own special relationship to Vande Mataram—who suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted. His letter, in fact, profoundly influenced the resolution in its entirety," Ramesh said in a post on X.

"The Prime Minister is now accusing the Gurudev of harbouring a 'divisive ideology'. It is a shameful statement from a man whose lies and distortions have no limits. The people of India demand an unconditional apology," he said.

In his remarks at the event, the Prime Minister said that as the country marks 150 years of "Vande Mataram", it gives us new inspiration and fills the people of the country with new energy.

"Vande Mataram is a word, a mantra, an energy, a dream, a resolve. It is the devotion to Mother India, the worship of Mother India. It connects us to our history and gives our future new courage. There is no resolve that cannot be achieved, no goal that we Indians cannot accomplish. We have to build a nation which is at the top on the basis of knowledge, science, and technology," Modi said.

He noted that for centuries, the world listened to stories of India's prosperity.

Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said his party has been the proud flagbearer of "Vande Mataram", which awakened the collective soul of the nation and became the rallying cry for freedom, whereas BJP and RSS have "avoided" the national song despite its universal reverence. RSS and BJP, who claim to be self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism, have never sung "Vande Mataram" or the national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana", in their shakhas or offices.

On the 150th anniversary of India's national song, Kharge said in a statement that "Vande Mataram", composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, embodies the spirit 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 the then Congress President Rahmatullah Sayani, that 'Vande Mataram' was sung publicly for the first time by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore," he added.