In September, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto addressed the United Nations General Assembly with two greetings that, incidentally, had the same meaning. Assalamu alaikum (Arabic) and Om Swastiastu (Sanskrit) means may God have grace on you. Indonesia, of course, is the most populous Muslim nation in the world.
Leaders of the Islamic nations always use the Arabic greeting, but Subianto stuck to the traditions that his forefathers and predecessors followed, which dates back to long before the advent of Islam in the island-nation. In Indonesia, many families still invoke Lord Ganesha during auspicious occasions.
You must be wondering why I am mentioning all this. Parliament is poised to discuss the revolutionary song, Vande Mataramon its 150th anniversary. For years, its singing, or rather the lack of it, has been in the eye of a storm over religious beliefs. A section of the Muslim population not only refuses to sing the whole song, but also mention the term Vande MataramThe reason is the song mentions the motherland as a reflection of Goddesses Durga and Lakshmi,
They insist these phrases are against the philosophy of monotheistic and formless existence of God in Islam, which prohibits worshiping anyone else except Allah. While I respect their faith, I would ask if Indonesian presidents, from Sukarno to Subianto, do not shy away from observing their cultural practices, why is there so much confusion in India? Symbols of national pride and struggle shouldn’t be seen from a religious prism, as they transcend such limited boundaries.
Legendary Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote Vande Mataram in 1875. Later, he included the song in his famous novel Anand MathOrders of Hindu religious sects that rose against the British used it as their rallying cry, In 1905, when Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal, the same song became the bedrock of Bengali unity and was used as a clarion call to action against the British empire,
Whenever the British police tried to muzzle Indians by resorting to caning, the revolutionaries would electrify the atmosphere by singing. Vande MataramMany revolutionaries kept chanting it as they faced death, At that time, Vande Mataram was a rallying point of national awakening and resistance. Frustrated, the British finally banned it.
But that proved a feeble attempt at crushing the rising revolutionary spirit. The British finally saw a ray of hope in the statement issued by the Muslim League leader Saiyyad Ali Imam in 1909. He and his handful of followers felt it was a heretic song and that Muslims should stay away from it. The slogan became a victim of communal conspiracy, egged on by the British rulers.
In 1937, the Indian National Congress constituted a committee with Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore as members, to select a national song. On Tagore’s recommendations, the first two paragraphs of the Vande Mataram songs were selected. The committee recommended leaving out the rest of the paragraphs as they mentioned Hindu deities.
All three astutely judged the pulse of the moment. By that time, “Pakistan Zindabad” had become a clarion call among Muslim League workers. They were distributing pamphlets of the “Pakistan declaration” in cities and villages. Vande Mataram could have fanned the divisive fires further. The committee’s recommendations were able to paper over the controversy for the moment, but it kept simmering.
On January 24, 1950, India’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, said Vande Mataram should be accorded the same stature as Jana Gana Manabut Vande Mataram couldn’t get constitutional status while Article 51A of the Constitution mandates every Indian to respect the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana,
However, since then, it has been periodically weaponised. Isn’t it a unnecessary controversy during Amrit Kaal when the country is on its way to becoming an economic superpower? If we need to progress, we will have to avoid such manufactured controversies. But how can we achieve it? The potpourri of politics and religion will keep creating useless confrontations.
We have just celebrated the 150th anniversary of Vande MataramThe government has also earmarked precious parliamentary time to discuss it, Will our honorable parliamentarians be able to put an end to this debate once and for all?
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
