Why is Parliament holding special debate on 150-year-old Vande Mataram today?

All eyes are on the Parliament session on Monday (8 December) as the Lok Sabha is set to witness a 10-hour discussion on India's national song Vande Mataram. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reportedly initiate the debate in the Lok Sabha around 12 PM on Monday.

According to news agency PTI, the BJP-led NDA government has been allotted three hours for its participation in the Lok Sabha debate.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will speak after the prime minister in the Lok Sabha, while Opposition Congress has decided to field Deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the discussion.

The debate will also take place in the Upper House, the Rajya Sabha, on Tuesday, 9 December. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to open the discussion in the Upper House.

Why is the debate being held on 150-year-old Vande Mataram in Parliament now?

The Lok Sabha will hold a special discussion on Monday to mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, a poem written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Notably, the 150th anniversary of India's National Song Vande Mataram was celebrated on 7 November 2025.

It's expected that during the debate, several important, lesser-known historical facets of the iconic national song will be highlighted, news agency PTI reported.

The debate will likely highlight Vande Mataram's historical significance and enduring legacy in India's freedom movement.

In an interview with NDTV, Sajal Chattopadhyay, the great-grandson of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, said, "India has neglected him and his legacy for a long time. He is used only politically."

Besides, the special debate is being held a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of removing significant verses from 'Vande Mataram'. He had claimed that this removal "sowed the seeds for partition".

“Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas of Vande Mataram...a part of its soul, were severed. The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of partition,” PM Modi was quoted by PTI as saying on 7 November.

"Today's generation needs to know why this injustice was done with this 'maha mantra' of nation building…this divisive mindset is still a challenge for the country," PM Modi had said.

"Today's generation needs to understand why such injustice was committed against this great mantra of nation-building. Because that same divisive mindset continues to pose a major challenge for the nation even today," the Prime Minister had added.

To understand the controversy, let's first delve into the history of Vande Mataram, briefly:

'Vande Mataram', a political slogan

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee had composed 'Vande Mataram', which translates to 'Mother, I Bow to Thee'. It was first published in the literary journal Bangadarshan on 7 November 1875.

Vande Mataram was initially composed independently and later included in Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel “Anandamath” (published in 1882).

It was first sung by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Congress Session in Calcutta.

Vande Mataram was first used as a political slogan in August 1905 by students who protested against the British Crown, demanding freedom near the town hall in Calcutta (Kolkata). This student procession promoted the idea of 'Swadeshi' and boycotting British goods.

The year 1905 remains significant for the Partition of Bengal, which was announced by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon.

From 1905 to 1947, many who fought for freedom raised 'Vande Mataram' as a political slogan against the British, inspiring a sense of patriotism.

In other words, the slogan became a political war cry, especially among nationalists, after the death of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

Even though it became a political slogan, Vande Mataram was adopted as India's national song by the Constituent Assembly only on 24 January 1950.

What's the controversy? 'Nehru truncated Vande Mataram'

According to various accounts, a truncated version of "Vande Mataram", keeping only the first two of the original six stanzas, was chosen as the national song in 1937 by the Congress after a committee recommended the adoption, news agency PTI reported.

In its 1937 Faizabad session, the Congress used only the first two stanzas of the poem Vande Mataram to keep it secular, since Chatterjee had invoked Hindu goddesses in the later stanzas, the report added.

What is BJP alleging?

Hitting out at the Congress decades later, BJP national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra criticised India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's "false sense of secularism".

"Tomorrow, when there will be a discussion in Parliament on Vande Mataram, I feel that the legacy of Nehru will again be a subject of debate, discussion and might be exposed...," he told news agency ANI.

Congress hits back at PM Modi

The Congress hit back at Prime Minister Modi after he attacked the party over the dropping of stanzas from "Vande Mataram" in 1937.

The party said Rabindranath Tagore himself had suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted, and it was "shameful" of the Prime Minister to accuse the Nobel laureate of harbouring a divisive ideology.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said it was a decision of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that included many iconic leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, among others.

"The Prime Minister has insulted this CWC as well as Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. That he should have done so is shocking but not surprising since the RSS had played no role in our Freedom Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi," Ramesh had posted on X on 9 November.