Vande Mataram not only against British, but also Muslims: Raja quotes experts

According to Raja, Mahatma Gandhi praised the song in 1915, but in 1940 he said it should not be sung with the intention of hurting Muslims. “What happened between 1915 and 1940?” He said revolutionary group Anusheelan Samiti was the greatest proponent of the song and played a role in catapulting it to the status of national song.

“Documents seized by the British showed that the association did not allow Muslims. When questioned, the Samiti said that vows taken by mem­bers at the time of admission were sacred to Hindus but not Muslims. The poem is Vande Mataram. Cause is national struggle. But you are provoking Muslims and chanting Vande Mataram. The inference can be drawn that Vande Mataram is religious,” Raja said.

He said between 1905 and 1908, the then home department had noted that during prayers in mosques in Bengal, Hindu processions passing by chanted Vande Mataram, creating enmity. In 1907, Raja claim­ed, pamphlets were distributed that Muslims should not sing Vande Mataram, and no Muslim should join the Swadeshi movement. Such incidents increased between 1902 and 1915, he said.

“House of Commons had then debated why Vande Mataram was causing communal conflict. The fault is not with the song. According to them, it is only for Hindus. So the divide starts there,” Raja said. Quoting historian Tanika Sarkar, Raja claimed Anand Math stated: “Unless we throw…out, Hindus will be ruined. When shall we raze mosques to the ground and erect Ramdev temples in their place?” “You can draw inference as to what it means.”

He claimed that the same novel said, “How do our Muslims rulers protect us? We lost our religion, we lost our caste, we lost our honour and family name, and now we are about to lose our very lives. How can Hinduism survive unless we drive out…”

“This type of observation contemplated in the literature of Bankim Chandra prompted the animosity,” the MP said.

“So there are reasons to come to the conclusion that Vande Mataram, at least a few stanzas of it, are not only against the British, but also Muslims. R C Majumdar correctly said, ‘Bankim Chandra converted patriotism into religion and religion into patriotism’,” Raja said.