After PM Modi’s barb, Congress says Nehru championed mass outreach for Vande Mataram

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Monday countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru over Vande Mataram, arguing that India’s first prime minister had played a key role in promoting the national song, rather than diminishing it.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gogoi referred to discussions within the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in 1937, where it was resolved to build mass awareness of Vande Mataram across the country. “That meeting was attended by towering intellectuals, including Rabindranath Tagore,” he said, adding that Tagore himself had emphasised that the opening two stanzas carried the essence of the hymn.

According to Gogoi, Nehru had advocated wide publicity for Vande Mataram and believed it should be used to strengthen the freedom movement. “The words Vande Mataram became a slogan of power, inspiring people and reminding us of the struggle for independence,” he stated.

Gogoi also called for a careful reading of the song’s history, noting that it originated in Bengal before quickly travelling across the country. “Within a year, it had energised both freedom fighters and ordinary citizens,” he said. While the prime minister cited gramophone records as a key medium for its spread, Gogoi added that pamphlets also played a crucial role.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi, while marking 150 years of Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, accused the Congress of having “fractured” the song under pressure from the Muslim League in 1937. He recalled that after objections from Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Nehru wrote to Subhas Chandra Bose warning that the song’s background might provoke anger among Muslims. A meeting was then convened in Kolkata, following which only the first two stanzas were retained for official use.

“This was appeasement,” Modi said. “Congress bowed before the Muslim League, and because it divided Vande Mataram, it later bowed to the division of India,” he claimed, adding that the party continued the same politics today.

Gogoi maintained that no attempt to discredit Nehru would succeed, saying that history demonstrated his commitment to the song’s reach and symbolism.

With IANS inputs