Image for illustration purposes only. | Photo credit: File
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced that “Vande Mataram” will be sung together across the country on November 7, a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend one such event at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.
Celebrations will be held at 150 places of national importance, including Kargil War Memorial, Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Swaraj Ashram in Odisha, Shaheed Smarak Park in Agra and Namo Ghat in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Similar events are planned at around 1,100 locations in West Bengal.
In a press conference, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said the party would organize district and state-level programs to commemorate the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram” from November 7 to November 26, coinciding with Constitution Day. The events will include a commitment to promote the use of Made in India products.
“‘Vande Mataram’, which served as the country’s independence motto, inspired millions of revolutionaries. Many freedom fighters went to the gallows singing ‘Vande Mataram’ and endured the oppression of foreign invaders. It proved to be a powerful mantra to liberate India from the British,” he said.
Mr Chugh said the national song was composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875 and was famously recited by Rabindranath Tagore in 1896.
He added that at the 1923 session of the Indian National Congress in Kakinada, when “Vande Mataram” was being sung, Congress President Maulana Mohammad Ali objected to it on religious grounds. In 1937, the Congress Working Committee decided to adopt only its first two stanzas as the national song. “Even later, on many occasions, the Congress and its leaders have shown their intolerance towards ‘Vande Mataram’ on various platforms,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
Published – 05 Nov 2025 21:25 IST
