[Marxistindia] On the Misuse of Vande Mataram

[news from the cpi(m)]

August 24, 2026

 

Press Statement

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the
following statement:

 

On the Misuse of Vande Mataram

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly
disapproves the manner in which the BJP and the Hindutva communal forces are
misusing the question of prioritising 'Vande Mataram' with all the six
stanzas as legislated by the Parliament. 

 

The CPI(M) has earlier expressed its comprehensive views on the question of
the historical context in which the song was rendered officially as the
National Song. Fact is, the six stanzas were added subsequently after a
lapse of decades to dovetail with the Anandamath novel, by Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay. It is on the basis of this historical fact and the
implication, that no one less than Rabindranath Tagore himself found this
unacceptable as the National Anthem. 

 

There are no reservations about the recitation of the first two stanzas of
'Vande Mataram' as has been done always, during the freedom struggle and in
the Constituent Assembly. However, after the passage of upgrading the status
with the addition of all six stanzas, attempts are being made to use the
rendering of this version as the single point marker for patriotism. It
clearly betrays the Hindutva forces' communal and divisive objectives. The
hypocritical style of wearing patriotism on its sleeve is exposed by the act
of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker walking out midway during the
rendering of the National Anthem. 

 

The Polit Bureau feels it is disruptive for the unity of the people of the
country, ironically initiated by those who did not have the gumption of
mouthing the 'Vande Mataram' slogan during the freedom struggle. The CPI(M)
firmly believes that all constitutionally accepted concepts must be honoured
because they are add-ons to the idea of India, recognising pluralism and
inclusiveness. 

 

 

(Muralidharan)

For CPI(M) Central Committee Office

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://cpim.org/pipermail/marxistindia_cpim.org/attachments/20260824/d97b38e9/attachment.html>