New Delhi | 'Vande Mataram', the national song of India, continues to symbolise the emotional consciousness and unity of the country's people, President Droupadi Murmu said on Friday.
On the occasion of the song's 150th anniversary, "let all of us countrymen take this firm resolve that we will keep Mother India endowed with 'Sujala' (good water), 'sufala' (good or fine fruit) and 'sukhda' (bestowed with happiness), in accordance with the spirit of this song. Vande Mataram," Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi.
The president also recounted how, in the nineteenth century, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay composed Vande Mataram against the backdrop of the Sannyasi rebellion against British rule, which, since the 1905 Swadeshi movement, has become a source of inspiration.
"Since then, this song of reverence to Mother India has remained a proclamation of the emotional consciousness and unity of our countrymen, and it will continue to be so," the president said, adding that after independence, the country reverently adopted it as the national song.
November 7, this year, marks the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, which translates to "Mother, I bow to thee." This composition, an enduring anthem, has inspired countless generations of freedom fighters and nation builders, standing as a lasting emblem of India's national identity and collective spirit, according to an official statement.
Vande Mataram was first published in the literary journal Bangadarshan on November 7, 1875, and was set to music by Rabindranath Tagore.
