How Vande Mataram Was Born And Became India’s National Song | Explained

Last Updated:November 07, 2025, 12:36 IST

The first public performance of Vande Mataram took place in 1896 at the Congress session in Calcutta, where Rabindranath Tagore composed and sang it

The journey of Vande Mataram illustrates how a song can evolve into a movement. (Representative/News18 Hindi)

November 7 marks 150 years since the creation of the national song Vande Mataram. This song, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, played a significant role in India’s freedom movement, symbolising the worship of Mother India and igniting nationalism against British rule. Originating as a simple poem in the 1870s, it eventually became the national song of India.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, then a Deputy Magistrate in British India, was deeply troubled by the oppressive British policies. On November 7, 1875, he published Vande Mataram for the first time in his Bengali magazine, Bangadarshan. The full song later featured in his 1882 novel, Anandamath, which depicts the 18th-century monk rebellion.

In the novel, a monk named Bhavanand sings Vande Mataram, with its first two verses in Sanskrit portraying India as Goddess Durga and the rest in Bengali, praising Mother India. Chattopadhyay wrote it as an alternative to ‘God Save the Queen,’ the British national anthem.

How Public Singing Gathered Crowds In 1896

The first public performance of Vande Mataram occurred in 1896 during the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Rabindranath Tagore composed and sang it, transforming the poem into a powerful song.

This was the 12th session of the Congress, held at a time when nationalist sentiment was rising strongly. Tagore set the song to music, turning it from a poem into a stirring anthem. Although parts of it had been sung in 1882 after the novel’s publication, it was only in 1896 that it truly echoed on a political stage.

Poet Hemchandra Banerjee sang excerpts of the song at the 1886 Kolkata session, but the full rendition performed in 1896 is regarded as the defining version. That performance sparked a tradition at Congress sessions, where proceedings began with Vande Mataram.

By 1905, the Swadeshi movement against the partition of Bengal had turned the song into a potent weapon of protest. Rabindranath Tagore helped shape it into a unifying nationalist slogan, and its echoes filled streets and processions from Lahore to Kolkata. Revolutionaries like Aurobindo Ghosh hailed it as a mantra of freedom. Though the British attempted to ban it, Vande Mataram remained so influential that it contributed to the annulment of Bengal’s partition in 1911.

Muslim League Registered Strong Protest

From 1906 to 1911, the full song was sung, but later only the first two verses were adopted due to opposition from the Muslim League. Gandhi supported the song, albeit cautiously regarding its religious tone. In 1937, the Congress declared it their anthem.

After Independence, on January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly, led by President Rajendra Prasad, designated Vande Mataram as the national song, while ‘Jana Gana Mana’ became the national anthem.

In 2003, the BBC recognised it as Asia’s best song. Even today, Vande Mataram, sung in 52 seconds, continues to inspire patriotism.

The journey of Vande Mataram illustrates how a song can evolve into a movement, symbolising India’s unity and inspiring countless youth during the freedom struggle and strengthening democracy post-independence.

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