Vande Mataram continues to inspire even today: Yogi | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that ‘Vande Mataram’ song ignited the spirit of nationalism and gave a new direction to India during the freedom movement, and continues to inspire the country even today.Speaking at a programme in Lucknow to mark 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’, he urged citizens to rise above personal interests and commit themselves to their duties towards the nation, saying that doing so is the true spirit of ‘Vande Mataram’ — the national song of India. He called it a day to celebrate the song which became the mantra for India’s freedom movement.The CM not only sang the national song but also took a pledge for Swadeshi. He said that the day was being observed as one of remembrance to honour the spirit of patriotism that Vande Mataram ignited. Yogi said the immortal composition by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was not merely a song but a ‘sacred expression of India’s unity, spirit and duty”. Yogi recalled that Vande Mataram was adopted as India’s national song by the Constituent Assembly on Jan 24, 1950.“While the song originated from Bankim Chandra’s timeless novel Anand Math, which reflected the struggles of famine and hardship in Bengal, it soon evolved into a movement that gave India a new direction and awakened its collective spirit. For 150 years, this song has symbolised India’s soul and nurtured a renewed sense of nationalism,” he said.Calling the song India’s immortal chant of freedom, the CM pointed out that despite severe oppression by the foreign rulers, freedom fighters and revolutionaries organised processions in villages and towns, singing Vande Mataram. It was Vande Mataram that united people and inspired them to resist efforts by the British govt to divide India through the partition of Bengal in 1905, becoming the voice of revolution. “Throughout the independence movement, whenever a slogan or flag was conceived, Vande Mataram served as its soul. It transcended caste, creed, and religion, instilling in every Indian the spirit of national unity and the resolve to put the nation first. Vande Mataram became the collective expression of India’s eternal devotion, power, and consciousness,” he said.He emphasised that Vande Mataram, composed in 1875, was not merely a song of independence but a powerful medium that spread the message of freedom across India. It is a harmonious blend of Sanskrit and Bengali and became an immortal hymn that united the nation with “the spirit of the Motherland and reflected the eternal essence of India”.The song, he said, belongs to everyone and does not glorify any specific deity, caste, or sect. Instead, it calls upon citizens to fulfil their duties toward the nation. Referring to Dr BR Ambedkar’s presentation of the draft Constitution on Nov 26, 1949, Yogi said that one often talks about their rights, but rarely about their duties.
