New Delhi, Dec 11: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday sparked a stormy debate in the Rajya Sabha, declaring that the Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru’s decision to “divide” Vande Mataram in 1937 by restricting it to the first two stanzas marked the beginning of “appeasement politics” that ultimately led to the Partition of India.
“If they had not divided the song into two for appeasement politics, India would also not have been partitioned,” Shah said, triggering loud protests from the Opposition benches.
Initiating a special discussion to mark the 150th anniversary of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram, the Home Minister described the song as the “mantra that awakened India’s cultural nationalism” and asserted it remains as relevant today as during the freedom struggle and will stay so till the goal of Viksit Bharat in 2047 is achieved.
“Vande Mataram was the chant that energised the freedom movement. Freedom fighters began every meeting with it; our brave soldiers utter it as their last words on the border,” he said, adding that the song emerged as a response to centuries of invasions that had weakened Indian culture and British attempts to impose an alien civilisation.
Hitting out at the Congress, Shah accused the party of repeatedly insulting the national song and trying to diminish its importance by linking Wednesday’s discussion to the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections – a clear reference to remarks made by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Lok Sabha earlier this week.
“Some people are saying Vande Mataram is being discussed because elections are coming in West Bengal… They are trying to reduce the importance of Vande Mataram,” he said.
The Home Minister later sent a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman citing nine instances between 2018 and 2025 in which Congress leaders had allegedly insulted the song.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge countered that it was the Congress that made Vande Mataram the slogan of the freedom struggle, with lakhs of party workers going to jail chanting the song during the Non-Cooperation Movement. He recalled that Rabindranath Tagore first sang it at the 1896 Congress session in Calcutta.
Cutting across party lines, several leaders hailed the song’s unifying power:
- Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda (JD(S)) said Vande Mataram continues to unite the nation and is the spirit behind every state song.
- AIADMK’s Dr M. Thambidurai called it “the spark that charged the nation with patriotism” and inspired revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
- NCP’s Praful Patel urged that the debate not be politicised.
- Shiv Sena’s Milind Deora said the song transcends religion and caste and still reverberates across the world after 150 years.
- YSRCP leader S. Niranjan Reddy described it as the inspiration that brought different communities and religions together for independence.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva used the occasion to demand inclusion of Tamil Nadu freedom fighters in the CBSE curriculum.
Shah also reminded the House that during the song’s centenary year in 1976, the country was under Emergency and the entire Opposition was in jail, leaving no one to raise Vande Mataram.
The nearly four-hour discussion saw participation from members of almost all major parties, including TMC, CPI(M), AAP, BRS, BJD, RJD and BJP, besides nominated member Sudha Murty.
The House was adjourned for the day after the discussion concluded.
