‘Vande Mataram’ turns 150 years: Meaning, history, and its composer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

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India's national song, Vande Mataram is now 150 years old. This song played a significant role in India's Indepedent movement. The revolutionary song was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was an Indian Bengali poet, essayist and journalist and is considered as one of the key figures literary in renaissance of Bengal as well as the broader Indian subcontinent.

Vande Mataram was first published in a literary journal 'Bangadarshan,' in 1875 and adopted as the national song of the Republic of India in 1950. It was later incorporated in Chatterjee's novel Anandamath, published in 1882. In Anandamath, Bankim Chandra imagined a band of monks who dedicated the their life for the freedom of their motherland and for them the mother wasn't just an abstract idea, but the spirit of India herself.

Meaning
The song translates to, 'I bow thee Mother,' and is an ode to the motherland. The song title has roots from Sanskrit language, the word 'Vande,' is 'Vand' and has appeared in the ancient Vedic scripture Rigveda.

Significance
The song gained political significance when it was recited by Rabindranath Tagore at the annual convention of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), in 1896. Madam Bikaji Cama unfurled the tri-colour in Berlin first time outside India, in 1907 and the words 'Vande Mataram' were inscribed on it. In the Constituent Assembly, there was absolute unanimity in adopting both Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram as National symbols, and no debate ensued on the issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the year-long 150th anniversary celebrations of the national song ‘Vande Mataram' at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, on Friday and even launched a portal, stamp, and coin commemorating the national song.

The song's influence extends across generations, and remains a symbolic represent of India's collective spirit.