150 Years of Vande Mataram: On 7 November 2025, India commemorates 150 years of Vande Mataram—a timeless salutation meaning “Mother, I bow to thee.” The iconic composition, which stirred the hearts of generations of freedom fighters and nation builders, remains a profound symbol of India’s national identity and collective consciousness.
Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and first published in the literary journal Bangadarshan on 7 November 1875, the hymn was later incorporated into his celebrated novel Anandamath (1882) and set to music by Rabindranath Tagore. Over the decades, Vande Mataram evolved from a literary creation into an anthem of India’s civilizational, cultural, and political awakening. Marking this milestone provides an opportunity to reaffirm its eternal message of unity, sacrifice, and devotion to the motherland.
Historical Background
Understanding Vande Mataram requires tracing its journey from a poetic composition to a national symbol of resistance.
The first publication of the song in 1875 is supported by references such as Sri Aurobindo’s article in the English daily Bande Mataram dated 16 April 1907, where he notes that “thirty-two years ago” Bankim had composed the hymn, though it initially received little attention.
Before Anandamath appeared as a book, it was serialized in the Bengali magazine Bangadarshan, with “Vande Mataram” featured in its very first installment (March–April 1881).
The song’s influence soon crossed borders. In 1907, at Stuttgart, Madam Bhikaji Cama unfurled the first Indian tricolour on foreign soil—bearing the words Vande Mataram.
Anandamath and the Religion of Patriotism
At the heart of Anandamath lies a band of monks, the Santanas, who dedicate their lives to the liberation of their motherland. Their devotion is embodied in the song Vande Mataram, which captures the essence of what Sri Aurobindo described as the “religion of patriotism.”
The Santanas worship the motherland through three symbolic images:
- The Mother That Was – magnificent and resplendent,
- The Mother That Is – fallen and enslaved,
- The Mother That Will Be – restored to glory.
In Sri Aurobindo’s words:
“The Mother of his vision held trenchant steel in her twice seventy million hands and not the bowl of the mendicant.”
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838–1894), one of the tallest figures in 19th-century Bengal, played a decisive role in shaping modern Bengali prose and India’s early nationalist consciousness. A prolific novelist, poet, and essayist, his works—Durgeshnandini (1865), Kapalkundala (1866), Anandamath (1882), and Devi Chaudhurani (1884)—captured the social and cultural anxieties of a colonised society seeking identity.
Vande Mataram stands as his most enduring contribution—an emotional and spiritual invocation of the motherland that laid the ideological foundation for India’s nationalist movement.
Vande Mataram: Song of Resistance
By the early 20th century, Vande Mataram had become a rallying point for political mobilisation.
In 1905, the Bande Mataram Sampradaya emerged in North Calcutta to popularise the hymn as a patriotic mission. Its members organised Prabhat Pheris every Sunday, singing Vande Mataram and collecting voluntary contributions. Rabindranath Tagore himself sometimes joined these marches.
On 20 May 1906, Barisal (now in Bangladesh) witnessed an unprecedented procession of over 10,000 people—Hindus and Muslims alike—marching under the Vande Mataram flag.
That same year, the English daily Bande Mataram, edited by Bipin Chandra Pal and later Sri Aurobindo, became a powerful voice of political awakening. Its fearless editorials inspired nationalism, unity, and self-reliance.
Alarmed by its growing influence, the British administration imposed restrictions. Educational institutions in Eastern Bengal were prohibited from singing Vande Mataram, with warnings of derecognition. Students faced fines, threats of expulsion, and even police action for chanting the slogan.
From Rangpur to Dhulia to Belgaum, punitive measures only strengthened the people’s resolve—turning Vande Mataram into an act of defiance.
Battle Cry for Resurgent Nationalism
During the anti-partition and Swadeshi movements of 1905, the emotional power of Vande Mataram reached its peak. It transcended regional boundaries, echoing from Bengal’s lanes to Bombay’s mills and Punjab’s fields.
Students, leaders, and revolutionaries chanted it at meetings, protests, and even before imprisonment. Despite suppression, the hymn emerged as a unifying moral force, fueling the dream of swaraj and fostering cultural pride.
- Rabindranath Tagore first sang Vande Mataram at the 1896 Congress Session.
- In 1905, the Indian National Congress adopted it for all-India events.
By 1950, the Constituent Assembly formally recognised Vande Mataram as India’s National Song—cementing its legacy as the soundtrack of the freedom struggle.