A R Rahman's rendition of Vande Matram proves those wrong who truncated national song: Milind Deora

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Tuesday said that musician A R Rahman's rendition of the Vande Mataram song proved all those people wrong who were responsible for truncating the national song 88 years ago, as he is a Muslim.

Participating in a discussion on the national song in the Rajya Sabha, he said that Vande Mataram is not just our national song; it is truly a symbol of India's cultural and religious diversity.

He stated that Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote "Vande Mataram" in 1875, and Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore composed music. Different people, including Lata Mangeshkar and A R Rahman, have a role to disseminate Vande Mataram.

"But today I would like to tell the member from the National Conference that A R Rahman's version was a rendition by a proud Indian who also happens to be a Muslim. And A R Rahman, actually, as an Indian Muslim, not just proves people like him, but also proves those (wrong), who tried to truncate the song almost 88 years ago." Many people spoke about the truncation of the national songs as the left-out stanzas talk of deity worship, and people of many faiths don't believe in idol worship.

He also said that this is unfortunate, because with all Vande Mataram's literary death, it's unfortunate that the entire Vande Mataram is only heard during commemorative, sometimes government events.

He also pointed towards the classical 'Raag Desh' used for singing all patriotic songs and said that the soul of Vande Matram is the same as the soul of many patriotic songs, which have, for a long time, defined how classical traditions and classical arts have been defined through music, the cultural and political identity of India.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference member Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan explained that the left out part of the Vande Mataram song talks about deity worship, and Islam does not permit idol worship.

"We respect Hindu, Christian, and Sikh. If you want to sing, then go ahead. We respect that...Islam does permit deity worship. That is why only those stanzas were taken," he said.

He also brought the attention of the House towards the song, 'Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara', written by Mohammad Iqbal, saying that it was written by a Muslim in Urdu.

RJD member A D Singh stated that Vande Mataram gave us integrity, but this was not created by the BJP.

Praful Patel of NCP said that Vande Matram is not related to any religion, and it is for every Indian.

JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha said this song is not against any religion.

He suggested focusing on the development of Eastern India.

CPI-M leader V Sivadasan also spoke about the national song, saying that Vande Mataram talks about Bharat Mata, who is the poor women, and millions of them struggle to feed their children. PTI KKS HVA