‘Vande Mataram Is India’s Eternal Mantra’: Modi in Lok Sabha

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PM Modi invokes Bankim Chandra, Gandhi and freedom fighters, urging Parliament to draw inspiration from the national song for India’s march to 2047.

By TRH Political Desk

New Delhi, December 8, 2025 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday delivered an emotional address in the Lok Sabha during a special discussion commemorating 150 years of Vande Mataram, calling it “India’s eternal mantra of sacrifice, unity and national resolve.” He described the debate as a moment to “re-establish a golden chapter of India’s civilisational journey.”

Modi traced the origins of Vande Mataram to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s composition in 1875, a time when the British were imposing God Save the Queen across the subcontinent. Bankim Chandra’s response, he said, was not merely literary but a cultural awakening that ignited the nationalist consciousness. The Prime Minister emphasised that the song soon became the “soul of India’s freedom movement,” especially during the 1905 Swadeshi movement following the partition of Bengal.

The Prime Minister highlighted how Vande Mataram inspired generations of revolutionaries — from Khudiram Bose and Madanlal Dhingra to Ashfaqulla Khan and Masterda Surya Sen — asserting that the chant unified Indians across regions and communities. He cited Mahatma Gandhi’s praise, recalling Gandhi’s 1905 remarks that the song was “sweeter than any other national song” and stirred pure patriotism.

Modi underlined the colonial anxiety the song triggered, reminding Parliament that the British banned its printing, singing and public recitation. Despite these prohibitions, he said, women, students and children across India defiantly continued to sing it, making Vande Mataram a symbol of resilience against imperial repression.

He also revisited the controversy of 1937, when the Muslim League objected to the song and the Congress leadership, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru, agreed to restrict its usage. Modi described this as “a painful chapter” and urged the nation to understand its historical implications without ignoring the political pressures of the time.

The Prime Minister said that Vande Mataram has continued to guide the nation in moments of crisis — from the Emergency to wars and the COVID-19 pandemic — functioning as a source of strength and identity.

Calling upon MPs to draw inspiration from the national song, he said: “If Bankim Chandra could dream of a free India 50 years before independence, then 25 years before 2047 we too must dream of a developed India.” He concluded by urging Parliament to carry forward the spirit of unity, duty and national purpose embodied in Vande Mataram.

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