Vande Mataram row: Congress cites CWC statement of 1937, says PM 'insulted' Tagore

Stepping up its onslaught connected Prime Minister Narendra Modi implicit the Vande Mataram row, the Congress connected Sunday (November 9, 2025) claimed that the PM has "insulted" the Congress Working Committee of 1937, which issued a connection connected the song, arsenic besides Rabindranath Tagore, and said helium should combat his governmental battles connected existent issues of regular concern.

Also Read | BJP misusing ‘Vande Mataram’ day for governmental polarisation, hypocritical nationalism: Congress

Congress wide caput in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that the Prime Minister insulted the CWC and Tagore is shocking but not astonishing "since the RSS had played nary relation successful our Freedom Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi".

The Opposition party's onslaught came aft the Prime Minister had said connected Friday that important stanzas of the nationalist song, "Vande Mataram", were dropped successful 1937, which sowed the seeds of the partition, and asserted that specified a "divisive mindset" is inactive a situation for the country.

Mr. Modi had made the comments aft inaugurating the year-long commemoration of "Vande Mataram" to people 150 years of the nationalist song. Modi besides released a commemorative stamp and coin connected the occasion.

In a station connected X, Mr. Ramesh said, "The Congress Working Committee met successful Kolkata, October 26-November 1, 1937. Those contiguous included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, J.B. Kripalani, Bhulabhai Desai, Jamnalal Bajaj, Narendra Deva, and others."

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 66, leafage 46, reveals that connected October 28, 1937, the CWC issued a connection connected Vande Mataram, and this connection had been profoundly influenced by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and his advice, helium said connected X.

"The Prime Minister has insulted this CWC arsenic besides Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. That helium should person done truthful is shocking but not astonishing since the RSS had played nary relation successful our Freedom Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi," Mr. Ramesh said.

The premier curate should combat his existent governmental battles connected existent issues that are of regular interest to crores of Indians who interest astir their contiguous and future, helium said.

"His economical policies person sharpened inequalities. Unemployment has scaled caller highs. Investment momentum has been lost. His overseas argumentation has collapsed. He stands thoroughly exposed. And each helium does is maltreatment and defame India's archetypal Prime Minister (Jawaharlal Nehru)," Ramesh said.

The Congress wide caput shared screenshots of the connection of the CWC connected X.

"Gradually the usage of the archetypal 2 stanzas of the (Vande Mataram) opus dispersed to different provinces and a definite nationalist value began to connect to them. The remainder of the opus was precise seldom utilized and is adjacent present known by fewer persons. These 2 stanzas described successful tender connection the quality of the motherland and the abundance of her gifts," the CWC connection of 1937 said.

There was perfectly thing successful them to which objection could beryllium taken from the spiritual oregon immoderate different constituent of view, it said.

"'There is thing successful these stanzas to which immoderate 1 tin instrumentality exception. The different stanzas of the opus are small known and hardly ever sung. They incorporate definite allusions and a spiritual ideology which whitethorn not beryllium successful keeping with the ideology of different spiritual groups successful India," the connection said.

"Taking each things into information truthful the Committee urge that wherever the Bande Mataram is sung astatine nationalist gatherings lone the archetypal 2 stanzas should beryllium sung, with cleanable state to the organisers to sing immoderate different opus of an unobjectionable character, successful summation to, oregon successful the spot of, the Bande Mataram song," the connection had said.

But portion determination tin beryllium nary question astir the spot that Bande Mataram has travel to inhabit successful nationalist life, the aforesaid cannot beryllium said arsenic to the different songs, the CWC had said successful 1937.

"People person adopted songs of their choice, irrespective of merit. An authentic postulation has agelong been felt arsenic a desideratum. The Committee truthful name a sub-committee consisting of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Narendra Dev, to analyse each existent nationalist songs that whitethorn beryllium sent to it and those who are truthful inclined are invited to nonstop their compositions to this sub-committee," it said.

The sub-committee will, retired of the songs truthful received, taxable to the Working Committee the postulation that it whitethorn take to recognise arsenic being worthy of uncovering a spot successful a postulation of nationalist songs, the CWC had said.

"Only specified songs arsenic are composed successful elemental Hindustani oregon tin beryllium adapted to it, and person a rousing and inspiring tune volition beryllium accepted by the sub-committee for examination. The sub-committee shall consult and instrumentality the proposal of writer Rabindranath Tagore," it had said.

On Saturday, Ramesh shared screenshots of pages 110-112 from measurement 4 of the authoritative biography successful Bengali of Tagore titled Rabindra-Jeebanee by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, published by Visva-Bharati successful 1994.

"The Master Distorian of a PM indispensable render an apology. He has insulted our founding fathers and astir of each Tagore himself," Ramesh had said.

The Congress had deed backmost astatine Prime Minister Modi connected Friday aft helium had attacked the enactment implicit the dropping of stanzas from "Vande Mataram" successful 1937, saying Tagore himself had suggested that the archetypal 2 stanzas of the opus beryllium adopted and it was "shameful" of the PM to impeach the Nobel laureate of harbouring a divisive ideology.

The Opposition enactment had besides demanded an apology from Mr. Modi implicit his statement.

According to assorted accounts, a truncated mentation of "Vande Mataram", keeping lone the archetypal 2 of the six archetypal stanzas, was chosen arsenic the nationalist opus successful 1937 by the Congress aft a sheet recommended its adoption.

According to excerpts from the book, screenshots of which were shared by Mr. Ramesh connected X, "Upon being consulted, Rabindranath Tagore's proposal was threefold. While the archetypal 2 stanzas were wholly acceptable to Rabindranath, helium could not sympathise with the sentiments successful the second stanzas."

In a missive to Nehru, Tagore wrote, "To me, the tone of tenderness and devotion expressed successful its archetypal portion, the accent it gave to beauteous and beneficent aspects of our motherland made a peculiar appeal, truthful overmuch truthful that I recovered nary trouble successful dissociating it from the remainder of the poem and from those portions of the publication of which it is simply a part, with each the sentiments of which, brought up arsenic I was successful the monotheistic ideals of my father, I could person nary sympathy."