Division of Vande Mataram song led to partition of India: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that opposing 'Vande Mataram' is in the blood of the Congress and said had Jawaharlal Nehru not divided the song in two parts to begin appeasement, the partition of the country would not have taken place.

Initiating the debate in the Rajya Sabha to mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, he slammed the Opposition for linking the debate on the national song with the upcoming West Bengal elections.

He said Vande Mataram was the "mantra" that awakened India's cultural nationalism, and remains as relevant today as it was during the freedom struggle. He stressed that the song will remain relevant in the coming days as well, in taking the country towards Viksit Bharat.

Shah also attacked Congress for questioning the need for a debate on Vande Mataram, and accused first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru of "dividing" the poem and limiting it to merely two stanzas.

"When Vande Mataram completed 50 years in 1937, Jawaharlal Nehru ji divided it into two parts, and limited it to two stanzas," Shah said, triggering uproars from Opposition benches.

He said many like him believe that the nation would not have been partitioned if the hymn 'Vande Mataram' was not "divided into two", alleging that appeasement politics began ever since.

"That is where appeasement politics started... and that appeasement resulted in partition of the country. Many like me believe, if Vande Mataram was not divided into two due to appeasement politics, this nation would not have been partitioned," Shah said.

Targeting the Opposition, he said many members of the Congress were considering the discussion on Vande Mataram as a political manoeuvre or a weapon to divert attention from issues.

"We do not fear discussing issues. We do not boycott Parliament. If Parliament is not boycotted and allowed to function, then discussion on all issues will take place. We do not fear, nor do we have anything to hide. We are ready to discuss, be it any issue," he said.

He further added that when the song completed 100 years, the country was under Emergency when opposition leaders were jailed.

Shah also accused several Opposition leaders of not according respect to Vande Mataram when sung in Parliament and alleged that "the disrespect and insult toward Vande Mataram have run in the veins of leadership of the principal Opposition party ever since the freedom struggle and continues even today".

He alleged that the then prime minister imprisoned those who chanted Vande Mataram and imposed the Emergency.

"Look at the situation of the Congress party, which used to start its sessions with Vande Mataram, it was a mantra of the freedom movement ... When the debate started in Lok Sabha both members of Gandhi family were missing... The opposition to Vande Mataram is in the blood of the Congress leadership, from Jawaharlal Nehru to present day Congress leadership..." he alleged.

Shah said in 1992, BJP MP Ram Naik demanded that Vande Mataram be sung in Parliament, and the demand was supported by Leader of Opposition LK Advani. He claimed several leaders of the INDIA bloc had opposed it at that time.

"I have seen with my own eyes, there are many opposition members who leave before Vande Mataram is sung," Shah said, amid objections.

After Congress member Jairam Ramesh demanded that Shah authenticate his statement, Shah later wrote to the chairman providing a list of opposition leaders who showed disrespect to Vande Mataram.

"There is not one BJP member who would not stand respectfully during Vande Mataram... I will lay a list of all those who left the House before Vande Mataram. I would request, make the names a part of this discussion," he said.

Shah said the song, written against the backdrop of centuries of "Islamic attacks", and the British trying to impose a new culture, led to cultural nationalism being reestablished, and a cultural awakening.

"Yesterday, some MPs questioned the need for discussion on Vande Mataram...it was as relevant when the song was written, during the freedom movement, as it is today, and will be as relevant in 2047 when the Viksit Bharat would be achieved," Shah said.

"Some people are saying Vande Mataram is being discussed because elections are coming in West Bengal... They are trying to reduce the importance of Vande Mataram by linking it with Bengal elections," he said.

Shah urged members to take the spirit of the message of Vande Mataram to the youth of the nation, saying it is their duty to instill in the heart and mind of every child, youth, and adolescent the values of dedication and sacrifice towards the nation.

He said this discussion will help future generations understand its significance and it will also become a foundation for the nation's reconstruction.

He said the song was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in Bengal, but it spread across the nation, and became the chant for India's freedom struggle.

"The song reestablished the culture of witnessing nation as a mother. Even though the (British) government tried to ban it, and people were beaten and jailed for chanting Vande Mataram, it touched people's hearts and spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari," he said.

That is why Aurobindo said Vande Mataram is the mantra of India's awakening, he said. PTI AO/SKC ANU