“Vande Mataram” began in 1875 as a poem in Bengali-Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, later featured in his novel Anandamath (1882). Initially it comprised six stanzas: the first two celebrated the motherland’s richness and beauty, while later ones invoked Hindu g.  By the early 1900s, the song had become a powerful anthem of India’s freedom movement, but it also sparked divisions. Some Muslim leaders objected to the verses referencing goddesses, arguing these conflicted with their beliefs.ddess imagery and militant themes. 

In 1937, the Indian National Congress publicly resolved to adopt only the first two non-religious stanzas for national use—a decision endorsed by Rabindranath Tagore. This was not a secret truncation, but a conscious effort to retain the song’s unifying power while respecting India’s plural society. The debate resurfaced when Narendra Modi claimed that key stanzas had been removed, sowing seeds of division.

The saga of “Vande Mataram” thus reflects the complex negotiation between nationalism, culture and inclusion in India’s history—and underscores how symbols evolve in response to social diversity.