Prior
to the 175th birth anniversary of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894), his
song Vande Mataram is back in news for wrong reasons. On May
8, BSP’s Shaifqur Rehman Burq nonchalantly walked out of the Lok Sabha
while Vande Mataram was being played. The only comparable
incident in the annals of the apex legislative body had taken place on the
historic midnight on August 14-15, 1947. As the Assumption of Power ceremony
commenced in the Constitution Hall (now Central Hall of Parliament) with Vande
Mataram, some members did not arrive. But as soon as the song concluded, they
were seen trickling inside. HV Kamath, member from erstwhile Central Province
& Berar, found their entry too simultaneous to be natural. They had
apparently wanted to skip the Vande Mataram by design. Kamath referred to this
incident in the Constituent Assembly on August 26, 1947 when it was his turn to
speak. However, neither the identity of members nor their motives are known to
us.
But
Burq, MP from Sambhal, and Convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee clearly
acknowledges religious reasons. He admits that tenets of Islam prevent him from
bowing down his head to (an idolised form of) the motherland. “I can give my life
to the motherland and I have been taught heaven lies beneath the feet of
mother. But I cannot bow my head to her, which is reserved only for Allah.”
Criticism
directed against Burq is purely legalistic. It hinges on the point that Burq
has insulted the national song, co-equal of national anthem Jana Gana Mana. His
critics trace it to a statement by President Rajendra Prasad in the Constituent
Assembly on January 24, 1950. “The song Vande Mataram, which has played a
historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally
with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it… I hope this will
satisfy all members.” It was not a ruling from the chair but a statement made
only to ‘satisfy’ the members. It was like an apology or resignation tendered
merely to ‘satisfy’ ruffled public sentiment.
Had
Dr Rajendra Prasad or Nehru been sincere about the co-equal status, they would
have got it entered into the Constitution adopted on November 26, 1949. Several
Constituent Assembly members had favoured recognising Vande Mataram as the
national anthem. But why did Dr Rajendra Prasad make a reference on January 26,
1950 — merely two days before the Constitution was about to be enforced? The
song actually fell between two stools. Vande Mataram is not protected even
Article 51 A of the Constitution — Fundamental Duties or the Prevention of
Insults to National Honours Act, 1971.
But
what the legalistic interpreters overlook is the psychic chasm between the
communities. Vande Mataram merely occasions its exposure. I doubt if Burq’s
conduct would have surprised Bankim. Burq’s iconoclastic faith prevents him
from bowing down to motherland personified. Bankim had no love lost for Burq’s
Arabic imperial faith either. In Anandamath (1882), where the song Vande
Mataram appears, he hails the disestablishment of Muslim rule in Bengal. He was
convinced that a century of British rule was necessary to reinvigorate the
Hindus.
Bankim
was not merely the first novelist of India. He is hailed a seer who gave us the
mantra of ‘Vande Mataram’. Its Hindu inspiration is obvious. The song was
composed on November 7, 1875 on the day of Jagaddharti Puja in Bengal. But that
is not the only reason why Muslims were irked by it. Vande Mataram was song
common to different branches of freedom movement. From revolutionaries of
Bengal and Maharashtra to the moderate Congressmen and Gandhiji– Vande Mataram
was hailed by all. But the bulk of Muslim society, under the influence of Sir
Sayyid Ahmed Khan, stayed away from freedom movement. The freedom movement of
India was thus a Hindu enterprise. Only the Hindus melted their bones in the
dungeon of cellular Jail in Andaman, and went to gallows smilingly for the sake
of motherland.
Vande
Mataram, like the less poetical Bharat Mata Ki Jai, is a Hindu expression of
patriotism. It is the Hindu who idealises India as divine mother. Its roots
perhaps lie in the hoary antiquity of Atharva Veda where the Prithvi Sukta
says, “Earth is my mother, I am her son”. He sees Mother India as part of Mother
Earth. India is the land of sacred geography — but to Hindus alone. To the
Central Asian invaders, India has been a real estate. The Muslims have
possessed India, the Hindus have belonged to it. Thus Vande Mataram or Bharat
Mata Ki Jai come naturally to any Hindu of whatever persuasion. Had Burq’s
forefathers not accepted the religion brought over by Turk horsemen, he would
not have any hesitation in singing Vande Mataram.
The
contrast is quite revealing as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are adjourned sine die
each session. The Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Vice President Hamid Ansari says,
‘now national song’. But Speaker, Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar says ‘Please stand up
for Vande Mataram’. Hindus would love Vande Mataram, as they have loved it for
a century, regardless of its Constitutional status. It is the love of patriotic
Hindus, not the statement of the Chairman, Constituent Assembly that has made
Vande Mataram a national song.
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