Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the national song Vande Mataram became a symbol of patriotism, sacrifice and national consciousness, which paved the way for the freedom movement.

Initiating the discussion on the 150th Anniversary of Song Vande Mataram in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr Shah said, this immortal work is a creation that awakens a sense of duty and devotion towards Mother India. He said, Vande Mataram was needed during the freedom struggle, even now, as well as when the country becomes Viksit Bharat in 2047.

The Minister said, freedom fighters used to begin every meeting with the singing of Vande Mataram, and today, when brave soldiers make the supreme sacrifice at the border, they utter Vande Mataram.

Mr Shah said, through Vande Mataram, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay established the culture, the tradition of worshipping the country as a mother and cultural nationalism.

The Home Minister said, overcoming all restrictions and enduring oppression and numerous hardships, Vande Mataram touched the hearts of the countrymen and spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. He said, Vande Mataram emerged against the backdrop of centuries of Islamic invasions that had weakened the country’s culture and as a response to the British attempt to impose a new civilisation and culture.

The Home Minister said, the discussion of Vande Mataram in both Houses will help future generations understand its true importance and its glory.

Participating in the discussion, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said Congress made Vande Mataram, the slogan during the freedom struggle. He said, when Mahatma Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement in 1921, lakhs of freedom fighters from the Congress went to jail chanting Vande Mataram. Mr Kharge said, the song Vande Mataram entered public life in India when Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore first sang it at the Congress session in Calcutta in 1896.