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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on Congress and said that important stanzas of the national song, Vande Mataram, were dropped in 1937, which, he said, sowed the seeds of partition of India. PM Modi's remarks came after he inaugurated the year-long commemoration of Vande Mataram, to mark 150 years of the national song.

Calling Congress' 'divisive mindset' a challenge for new India, PM Modi said, "Vande Mataram became voice of India's freedom struggle, it expressed feelings of every Indian. Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas of Vande Mataram, its soul was removed."

"The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of partition. Today's generation needs to know that why was this injustice done with this 'maha mantra' of nation building. This divisive mindset is still a challenge for the country," the prime minister added.

The prime minister's comments came hours after BJP spokesperson CR Kesvan accused former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru of "deliberately" removing stanzas praising Goddess Durga from Vande Mataram. "In a letter dated Sep 1, 1937, Nehru spitefully writes that anybody considering the words in Vande Mataram as anything to do with a Goddess was absurd," Kesavan posted on X, sharing excerpts from the said letter.

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Kesvan further claimed that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was in favour of releasing the full orginal "It (Vande Mataram) did not belong to any particular religion or language. But the Congress committed the historic sin and blunder of linking the song with religion. Congress under Nehru citing religious grounds deliberately removed stanzas of Vande Mataram which hailed Goddess Ma Durga," Kesavan said.

"On Oct 20, 1937 Nehru wrote to Netaji Bose claiming that the background of Vande Mataram was likely to irritate Muslims. He went on to say that there does seem to be substance regarding outcry against Vande Mataram and people who are communalistically inclined have been affected by it," Kesavan further said.

"It (Vande Mataram) did not belong to any particular religion or language. But the Congress committed the historic sin and blunder of linking the song with religion. Congress under Nehru citing religious grounds deliberately removed stanzas of Vande Mataram which hailed Goddess Ma Durga," Kesavan said.

Congress Denies Charge

The BJP's accusation did not go down well with the Congress, with the grand old party denying the allegations. Denying any wrongdoing, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that even a truncated version of the National Anthem is sung at some events. "I don't think they understand anything. We shouldn't even have to answer an ignorant person. Our national anthem is Jana Mana Gana. Is that truncated or sung in full? Only a few stanzas are sung," Dikshit said.

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Dikshit further said that both Nehru and Bose wrote a letter to Rabindranath Tagore asking which stanzas should be kept in Vande Mataram. "In 1935, 1936, 1937, Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose together wrote a letter to Rabindranath Tagore asking which stanzas should we include and which should we exclude. Rabindranath suggested that the first two or three stanzas are a hymn to Mother India and were enough," Dikshit said.

"Any song sung at the national level or at a convention can't be sung for 8-10 minutes. That's why some stanzas were chosen. If they see communalism in everything, if they can't read poetry, and if they can't understand Vande Mataram, and what all its stanzas are doing, then we cannot sit and answer fools," Dikshit added.

Vande Mataram Completes 150 Years

The programme, launched by PM Modi, marks the formal launch of the year-long nationwide commemoration -- from November 7, 2025 to November 7, 2026 -- celebrating 150 years of the timeless composition that inspired India's freedom movement and continues to evoke national pride and unity.

The song was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji on the occasion of Akshaya Navami, which fell on November 7 in 1875. The song first appeared in the literary journal, "Bangadarshan", as part of Chatterji's novel, "Anandamath".

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