‘No Goal Beyond Reach’: PM Modi celebrates 150 years of Vande Mataram, the song that inspired India’s freedom spirit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Vande Mataram a prayer to Maa Bharati as India celebrated 150 years of its national song, marking its enduring spirit from freedom struggle to modern India.
In the capital today, India celebrated 150 years of national song "Vande Mataram". The hymn that praises the motherland, was first composed by Bankimchandra Chatterjee on November 7, 1875, on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Navami and has been sung across the generations with great patriotic fervour.
While releasing a stamp and coin to commemorate the day, PM Narendra Modi referred to "Vande Mataram" as "a mantra, an energy, a dream, a resolve a prayer to Maa Bharati". The event, held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, also launched a year-long national programme to mark the anniversary, which will be observed with various events and activities by educational institutions, cultural organisations and state governments.
"Its music is still the same, but this song has travelled a long way since then," PM Modi said. "When we hear these words, they take us into history, fill our present with new confidence, and give our future this new courage that there is no resolve that we cannot attain."
Origin of the song, now national anthem of India
Composed as a hymn to the motherland, it first appeared in the novel Anandamath by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and was published in Bangadarshan, a literary journal, in 1876.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the song became a part of India's struggle for freedom and was "accepted as the most potent weapon against colonialism in India" and "inspired thousands of freedom fighters". Calling it "the morning song of India" which "enveloped India in its magic and became the battle cry of our independence movement," he explained, "Tagore ji had performed it for the first time at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta."
The song was used during the anti-partition and Swadeshi movements at the start of the 20th century. "In August 1905, for the first time, a large number of students at a single event raised their voice in chorus - 'Vande Mataram'," the PM added.
The hymn has since stood alongside the national anthem, and has "equal status" in the country's symbols.
PM Modi describes the song as prayer to the motherland
"In India in 2025, 'Vande Mataram' will remain an important and living source of pride and unity for our country. I, therefore, pray to Maa Bh rati through this 'Vande Mataram'," PM Modi said in a speech at the event.
As per a tweet by the Prime Minister's Office, the new stamp and coin carry the image of a model standing with hands raised, which represents the statue of the motherland in Anandamath, and the PM's handwritten words "A mantra, an energy, a dream, a resolve".
The PM said that "India is now a symbol of strength, progress, prosperity and self-confidence, and it can do anything".
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