The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday, August 22, passed a resolution on Vande Mataram, strongly condemning the Congress Working Committee’s decision to reiterate its 1937 position of limiting the singing of the national song at party programmes to its first two stanzas.
The BJP said it would work to protect the “honour, dignity, legacy and national character” of the complete Vande Mataram and launch a nationwide campaign to spread awareness about its history and significance.
The resolution comes after the Congress Working Committee on August 19 reaffirmed its 1937 position on the singing of Vande Mataram at Congress programmes.
BJP attacks Congress over 1937 decision
In its resolution, the BJP said it strongly opposed the Congress decision and argued that a resolution of the Congress Working Committee cannot take precedence over decisions of India’s constitutional institutions or laws passed by Parliament.
The BJP said the political understanding of 1937 cannot be placed above the constitutional position established in 1950 or what the party described as the legal protection accorded to the national song by Parliament in 2026.
The party also said it would highlight what it described as the historical and political circumstances surrounding the decision to limit the singing of Vande Mataram, including objections raised by the Muslim League and the subsequent politics of communal and separatist demands.
BJP announces nationwide Vande Mataram campaign
The BJP said its workers would conduct a nationwide campaign to take the history, meaning, national significance and legacy of Vande Mataram to people across the country.
The party said the campaign would place particular emphasis on the younger generation.
According to the resolution, the initiative will seek to ensure that young people understand the history of the complete six-stanza national song and its association with India’s freedom struggle, sacrifices and the awakening of national consciousness.
The BJP also said it would highlight Mahatma Gandhi’s views on Vande Mataram, including his description of the song as an “anti-imperialist slogan” associated with the “purest national feeling”.
‘No compromise for political convenience’
The BJP said Vande Mataram was not merely an issue concerning a political party but a question of India’s honour and the legacy of those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s freedom.
The party said it would oppose any attempt to place the national song under “communal pressure, political appeasement or narrow vote-bank politics”.
The resolution said the BJP would not accept any compromise on the honour or legacy of Vande Mataram for political convenience.
BJP links Vande Mataram to 2047 vision
The party said Vande Mataram had been a powerful expression of India’s freedom struggle and national consciousness.
It also sought to connect the song’s historical legacy with India’s future, saying that while “Vande Mataram” was associated with India’s independence in 1947, it would also be the “great call” of a developed India in 2047 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
The resolution concluded with the slogan “Vande Mataram.”
