Celebrating 150 years of the song, Dr Guha recounts Dr Guha recounts some of the historic events of the early 1900s that led to the British banning it.
"Instead of deterring people, it intensified and strengthened the movement. It led to more widespread chanting. More people began chanting the words," said Dr Guha.
Dr Srishti Guha, a cultural historian with various research and teaching roles at the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle and affiliated with the Purai Global Indigenous History Centre. Source: Supplied / Srishti Guha
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed the song by drawing on both Bengali and Sanskrit. He personified India as a mother goddess, a powerful image that later become central to the nationalist movement.
He also incorporated the song into his landmark novel Anandamath. The novel is set against the backdrop of the devastating Bengal famine of 1770 and the Sannyasi Rebellion against the Nawabs and the East India Company. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote Anandamath while serving as a civil servant under the British Raj.
Dr Guha traces the journey of Vande Mataram from its emergence in 1905 to its adoption as India’s National Song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.
“It not only inspired freedom fighters of its time, but continues to stand as a lasting emblem of India’s national identity and collective spirit,” Dr Srishti Guha added.
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