‘Vande Mataram’, an eternally inspirational civilisational anthem of Bharat, written by sage and seer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee will be completing 150 years on 7 November this year. Though there have been multiple views about the date of its writing but now there is a broad agreement that it was written on 7 November 1875, much before it became part of his all-time great literary work, Anand Matha.

Vande Mataram isn’t just a patriotic song; it had the unique ability to become the key catalyst for awakening of masses against British rule in India. It wasn’t just a war cry for a ‘land mass’ by subjects of a British colony, it was much more than that. Vande Mataram reflected the centuries-long yearning of an eternal civilisation to get unshackled and realise her potential again.

Sri Aurobindo played a key role in establishing the spiritual significance of ‘Vande Mataram’ as he wrote (Sri Aurobindo and the New Thought in Indian Politics, p. xv.): “Though the song (Vande Mataram) was written as early as 1874 it truly sparked off a flame in the minds of the Indians in 1905 only. The revolutionary phosphorescence of the anti-partition movement (Bengal) inflamed the country in the form of the Swadeshi Movement of 1905. During this period ‘Vande Mataram’ proved to be the holy chant of Indian nationalism; It became the sacred hymn for the worship of the Motherland."

Amrendra Laxaman Gadgil aptly explained the relationship between Vande Matram and Sri Aurobindo in his seminal work ‘Vande Mataram: The Song........

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