Analysis

Vande Mataram row: The 1937 paper trail that unsettles a tidy narrative

Two Nehru letters from Sept–Oct 1937 surfaced ahead of PM’s Nov 7 address. We line up the dates against Tagore’s Oct 26 note and the Oct 29 CWC decision

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Shailesh Khanduri
New Update
vande mataram

New Delhi: A set of 1937 letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru surfaced on November 7 before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, prompting a day-long exchange between BJP leaders and the Congress over who initiated the move to use only the first two stanzas of the song. 

The documents appear earlier than Rabindranath Tagore’s October 26, 1937 note and the Congress Working Committee’s October 29, 1937 resolution, sharpening the chronology at the centre of the debate.

At 6:51 am on November 7, BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan posted scans of two letters. In the September 1, 1937 letter to Ali Sardar Jafri, Nehru questioned the suitability of Vande Mataram as a national anthem, calling goddess-linked readings “absurd” and citing difficult vocabulary and a mismatch with “modern notions of nationalism.” 

In the October 20, 1937 letter to Subhas Chandra Bose, he wrote that the background of the song was “likely to irritate the Muslims” and said there was “some substance” to the objections raised.

Minutes before the Prime Minister’s event, at 10:29 am, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh issued a thread foregrounding Tagore’s role and the CWC’s collective decision. 

He cited historian Sabyasachi Bhattacharya’s work to say Tagore advised adopting only the first two stanzas and that the CWC acted on October 29, 1937. He sought an apology from the Prime Minister, arguing that the government was misrepresenting the poet’s position and the committee’s intent.

At 10:36 am, Prime Minister Modi opened the commemoration in Delhi, calling Vande Mataram “the voice of India’s freedom struggle” and saying “important stanzas” were dropped in 1937. 

He released a commemorative stamp and coin and urged a nationwide recital of the full song. The Prime Minister linked the legacy of the composition to present-day national goals and milestones.

At 11:16 am, Amit Malviya followed with a post that aligned with Kesavan’s chronology, highlighting Nehru’s September 1 and October 20 letters and arguing that the party later formalised a position already set by its president in 1937. 

The thread framed the 1937 decision as a political choice with religious considerations, rather than a purely literary or procedural one.

By 5:18 pm, Jairam Ramesh returned with a second thread. He added specific dates, Tagore’s October 26 letter and the October 29 CWC resolution in Kolkata, and reiterated that the committee’s line was shaped by Tagore’s counsel. 

He accused the Prime Minister of insulting Tagore and demanded an apology. 

On November 9 at 9:48 am, Ramesh refreshed the sequence, listing the CWC’s dates and participants and widening the attack to current-day policy issues.

The day’s exchange has turned on a narrow but significant point of sequence. 

Nehru’s September 1 and October 20letters are earlier than October 26 (Tagore’s note) and October 29 (CWC), suggesting that the party president’s reservations pre-dated both the poet’s advice and the committee’s final wording. 

Congress leaders stress that the CWC’s resolution reflected a collective accommodation influenced by Tagore and recorded on October 29, 1937. 

BJP leaders point to Nehru’s letters to argue that the impulse to limit the song’s adoption existed before the committee met.

At the event, the Prime Minister said: “Vande Mataram became the voice of India’s freedom struggle… Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas… a part of its soul, were severed. The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of partition.” 

He framed the commemoration as a moment to revisit why “this injustice” was done and called the mindset “a challenge” for the country.

In his morning thread, Jairam Ramesh wrote that the CWC’s 1937 statement was “profoundly influenced by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore” and that the first two stanzas were adopted on the poet’s counsel. 

In the evening, he added exact dates for Tagore’s letter and the CWC resolution, and said the Prime Minister had “insulted” Tagore.

Kesavan’s post, which opened the exchange, said the party under Nehru adopted a truncated version at the Faizpur session and “linked the song with religion.” 

He wrote that it was important for younger Indians to see the documents and the reasoning recorded at the time.

The Constituent Assembly later recorded on January 24, 1950 that Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem and Vande Mataram would “be honoured equally” and have “equal status.” That note is often cited to underline the distinct status of the two compositions in the Republic’s formal protocol.

Amidst the row, the core factual question remains confined to who moved first in 1937. The evidence in circulation on November 7–9 shows:

Sept 1, 1937 – Nehru to Ali Sardar Jafri: calls goddess-linked interpretations “absurd”; says the song is not suitable as a national anthem due to vocabulary and fit with modern nationalism.

Oct 20, 1937 – Nehru to Subhas Bose: says the background is “likely to irritate the Muslims”; notes there is “some substance” to objections.

Oct 26, 1937 – Tagore to Nehru: advises adopting the first two stanzas.

Oct 29, 1937 – CWC resolution in Kolkata: adopts a truncated version.

The BJP argues this sequence places Nehru’s personal view ahead of the committee’s decision. 

The Congress emphasises that the eventual position was a collective one, taken after Tagore’s advice, and accuses the government of politicising a cultural question.

The primary texts from 1937, and the order in which they were written, are now central to how each side tells the story.

Listen to the full Vande Mataram song:

Rabindra Nath Tagore' Fact checks C R Kesavan Rabindranath Tagore Vande Mataram Independence Struggle Independence movement Subhash Chandra Bose Amit malviya Jairam Ramesh Muslims Congress Working Committee Fact Check Jawaharlal Nehru Congress Narendra Modi