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The Government of India, in a Cabinet meeting and through a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, has decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ for one year, beginning on November 7, 2025. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi reaffirmed this commitment in his Mann Ki Baat address in October. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), along with various social organizations, is also marking the 150th anniversary of ‘Vande Mataram’. This coordinated effort to promote patriotism and cultural heritage in society is truly commendable.
The decline of India’s sovereignty began with the defeat at the Battle of Plassey, fought on June 23, 1757, between Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula and Lord Clive of the British East India Company, on the plains of Plassey in Bengal. This defeat marked a turning point, paving the way for British expansion across the rest of India, eventually reducing the nation to colonial subjugation. Reflecting on this tragedy, the renowned Russian thinker Leo Tolstoy observed, “A trading company enslaved a nation of 200 million people by controlling only 30,000 of them.”
Witnessing the suffering of the nation under colonial rule, a deep desire for freedom began to arise among the people. The call for independence started echoing across different sections of society. The followers of Maa Kali, along with saints of the Guru Gorakhnath tradition, awakened the spirit of freedom by proclaiming ‘Alakh
The Government of India has decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ for one year, beginning on November 7, 2025
Niranjan’ in every village. From the Santhal tribe, two brothers—Sidhu and Kanu—led a historic uprising. In 1855, along with nearly 10,000 Santhals, they declared, “We will govern our own land and rule ourselves.” Soon after, the organized armed struggle for independence took shape in the Revolt of 1857, marking the first large-scale uprising against British rule.
On June 27, 1838, in an era when patriotic sentiment was beginning to awaken in Indian society, a great literary figure was born—Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Gifted with a brilliant intellect, he was proficient in Devanagari, Bengali, and English. He served as the Deputy Collector in Jessore (in present-day Bangladesh).
Witnessing firsthand the oppression and injustices inflicted by British rule, he resolved to awaken national consciousness through literature. He wrote numerous essays, articles, and novels that stirred patriotic thought among the masses. Among his renowned works are Shri Krishnacharitra, Durgeshnandini, Raj Singh, and Chandrashekhar. Through these writings, he sought to reveal the moral, cultural, and spiritual damage caused by colonial rule and inspire pride in India’s heritage.
His famous novel Anandamath, based on the Sanyasi Rebellion, gained exceptional recognition. The national song Vande Mataram first appeared in this novel. Sung by the sanyasis as a hymn of devotion to Mother India, Vande Mataram became the spiritual call of India’s freedom movement. The setting of Anandamath lies in the region of Murshidabad and Nadia in Bengal, depicted in the novel around a ‘Red Circle’ of revolutionary activity.
The song Vande Mataram was composed on 7 November 1875, which corresponded to the ninth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartik in the Indian calendar. This day, being Akshaya Navami, is also celebrated as the day of worship of Goddess Jagaddhatri.
Vande Mataram was first sung publicly by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress, where he presented it in Raga Malhar. After this historic event, the singing of Vande Mataram became a tradition at Congress sessions.
To weaken the rising national movement centered in Bengal, the British announced the Partition of Bengal on October 16, 1905. The aim was to curb the influence of Bengali revolutionaries and divide Hindu and Muslim communities. Anticipating this move, a massive public meeting was held at Calcutta Town Hall on August 7, 1905, where the entire gathering resonated with the slogan “Vande Mataram!”
On the day of the partition, observed as the Day of Mourning, nearly 50,000 people, led by Ananda Mohan Bose and Surendranath Banerjee, walked barefoot for 3.5 km across Central Maidan in Calcutta, continuously chanting Vande Mataram.
A dedicated revolutionary group called the Vande Mataram Sampraday emerged under the leadership of Manmath Nath Misra. In protest against British repression, a young patriot once wrote Vande Mataram 500 times as an act of defiance. Revolutionaries endured flogging while chanting Vande Mataram, prompting the British to ban the slogan.
Yet, the chant only spread further. It became the mantra of freedom, not only across India but among revolutionaries abroad as well.
• On April 14, 1906, thousands wore Vande Mataram badges during the Bihu festival in Assam.
• On December 22, 1908, on the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Vande Mataram was sung at India House in London.
• On August 22, 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama sang Vande Mataram at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart.
• Revolutionaries in Canada and America greeted each other with “Vande Mataram” instead of conventional salutations.
Vande Mataram was first sung publicly by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress, where he presented it in Raga Malhar.
Sister Nivedita inscribed Vande Mataram on the early national flag. Maharshi Aurobindo was punished by the British for publishing the newspaper Vande Mataram. The song was translated across India:
• Into Tamil by Subramania Bharati,
• Into Gujarati by Mahatma Gandhi,
• And into several other languages, including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Urdu.
Even as a student, Dr. K.B. Hedgewar, the future founder of the RSS, greeted a visiting British inspector with “Vande Mataram!” during an inspection of Neel City School in Nagpur—an act of fearless patriotism.
Thus, Vande Mataram became not merely a song, but a sacred mantra of India’s freedom struggle, inspiring countless people in India and across the world.
Along with the struggle for independence, Vande Mataram also became the guiding mantra of the Swadeshi Movement. On the day the partition of Bengal was announced, Rabindranath Tagore tied rakhis as a symbol of unity and pledged Swadeshi during the observance of the Day of Mourning. On that occasion, a collective vow was taken to reject foreign goods and promote Indian-made products.
During the symbolic burning of imported goods, people chanted: “Om Vande Mataram Rashtraya Swaha”. On that very day, a remarkable Rs.70,000 was collected in donations for the Swadeshi cause. Women took a special vow to support indigenous craftsmanship—choosing to wear handwoven Bengali sarees and indigenous conch-shell bangles, instead of imported glass bangles, especially during weddings. As a result, numerous Swadeshi enterprises began to emerge across India in protest against British-manufactured goods. For example, in Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu), many companies such as the Swadeshi Navigation Company were established. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak became a central force linking Vande Mataram with Swadeshi.
(The writer is Jt. Gen. Secretary (Org.) BJP)