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{{short description|National song of India}}
{{about|the poem and song|the song album|Vande Mataram (album)|Vande Mataram (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Bande Mataram|other uses|Bande Mataram (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox anthem
| prefix        = National
| type          = song
| country       = India
| title         = {{lang|sa|वन्दे मातरम्}}<br>{{lang|bn|বন্দে মাতরম্‌}}
| transcription = {{lang|en|italic=no|Vande Mātaram}}
| english_title = I Bow to Thee, O Mother
| image         = Vande Mataram - Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (Raag Desh).png
| caption       = Vande Mataram written by [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] set to [[Desh (raga)|Raag Desh]] as performed on [[All India Radio]]
| author        = [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]]
| composer      = [[Jadunath Bhattacharya]] (original)<br/>  [[Hemanta Mukherjee]] ([[Anand Math|film version]])
| lyrics_date   = ''[[Anandamath]]'' (1882)
| sound         = Vande Mataram on Mohan Veena.ogg
| sound_title   = Vande Mataram played on the [[Mohan veena]] by [[Vishwa Mohan Bhatt]] in 2017
| adopted       = {{start date and years ago|1950|1|24|df=y}}
}}
"'''Vande Mātaram'''"{{efn|{{blist|{{langx|bn|বন্দে মাতরম্}} {{IPA|bn|ˈbɔn̪d̪eˑ ˈmat̪ɔɾom|}}|[[Hindi]]: {{IPA|hi|ˈʋən̪d̪eː ˈmɑːt̪ɾəm|}}|{{Langx|sa|वन्दे मातरम्}} {{IPA|sa|ˈʋɐn̪d̪eː ˈmɑːt̪ɐɾɐm|}}}}}}{{efn|{{blist|[[Literal translation|Translated literally]] into English as 'I Praise You, Motherland'|[[Transcreation|Transcreated]] into English as "I Bow to Thee, Mother"}}}} is a poem that was adopted as the national song of the [[Republic of India]] in 1950. It was written in [[Sadhu bhasha|Sanskritised Bengali]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://knowindia.india.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-song.php | title=National Identity Elements - National Song - Know India: National Portal of India }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vande Mataram|url=http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/mataram.htm|access-date=2021-09-03|website=www.mustrad.org.uk}}</ref> by [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] in the 1870s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Identity Elements - National Song - Know India: National Portal of India|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-song.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818235841/http://knowindia.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-song.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 August 2017|website=knowindia.gov.in|access-date=2021-07-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Vande Mataram was in Sanskrit, AG clarifies|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/vande-mataram-was-in-sanskrit-ag-clarifies/article19273333.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|date=2017-07-14|access-date=2021-07-24|issn=0971-751X|language=en-IN|author=Staff Reporter}}</ref> and was first published in 1882 as part of Chatterjee's [[Bengali literature|Bengali novel]] ''[[Anandmath]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sabyasachi Bhattacharya|title=Bande Mataram, the Biography of a Song|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJqfAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-303055-3|pages=1–8, 73–76, 90–99}}</ref>

The poem is an ode to the motherland, it was officially adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1905 to serve as a pan-Indian, nationalist salutation to [[Bharat Mata|Mother India]] during the [[Indian independence movement]], culminating in its 1950 designation as the National Song of the Republic of India, sharing equal honour with the India's National Anthem.<ref name="PIB-Anthem1"/>

The first two verses of the song make abstract reference to the "[[Bharat Mata|mother]]" and "motherland", without any religious connotation. However, later verses mention [[Hindu]] goddesses such as [[Durga]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Sabyasachi Bhattacharya|title=Bande Mataram, the Biography of a Song|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJqfAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-303055-3|pages=34–37, 81}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Sumathi Ramaswamy|title=The Goddess and the Nation: Mapping Mother India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWfcoMnHU8gC&pg=PA125|year=2009|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-9153-1|pages=125–142}}</ref> The references to Hindu gods became a point of contention in 1937, after which the [[Indian National Congress]], on suggestion of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and  [[Rabindranath Tagore]], adopted the two stanzas of the song. Unlike the national anthem, there are no rules or decorum to be observed when reciting ''Vande Mataram''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-rules-on-singing-playing-of-Bande-Mataram-Government/articleshow/55582329.cms|title=No rules on singing, playing of 'Bande Mataram': Government|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=2017-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212223322/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-rules-on-singing-playing-of-Bande-Mataram-Government/articleshow/55582329.cms|archive-date=12 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History ==

===Composition===
[[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] was one of the earliest graduates of the newly established of Kolkata [[Calcutta University]]. After completing his Bachelor of Arts, he joined the [[British Raj|colonial government]] as a civil servant, becoming a Deputy Collector and later a [[Deputy Magistrate]]. Chattopadhyay was very interested in recent events in Indian and Bengali history, particularly the [[Revolt of 1857]] and the previous century's [[Sanyasi Rebellion]].<ref name=Lipner /> Around the same time, the administration was trying to promote "[[God Save the King]]" as the anthem for Indian subjects, which Indian nationalists disliked. It is generally believed that the concept of "Vande Mataram" came to Chatterjee when he was still a government official, around 1876.<ref name="mustard">Suresh Chandvankar, [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/mataram.htm Vande Mataram] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829065309/http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/mataram.htm |date=29 August 2006 }} (2003) at ''Musical Traditions'' (mustrad.org.uk)</ref> He wrote "Vande Mataram" at Chinsura ([[Hugli-Chuchura|Chuchura]]), in a white colour house of Adhya Family near [[Hooghly river]] (near Jora Ghat) in [[West Bengal]].

The novel Anandmath is  noted for pro-British sentiments. In this novel, Chatterjee argues that the British rulers are the savior of India and Indians cannot overcome arrogance without the British rule.<ref name="m795">{{cite book | last=Urban | first=Hugh B. | title=Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in the Study of Religion | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House | date=2012-01-01 | isbn=978-81-208-2932-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvtLClojU_4C&pg=PA124 | page=124}}</ref><ref name="k829">{{cite book | last=Mukherjee | first=Meenakshi | title=Early Novels in India | publisher=Sahitya Akademi | date=2002 | isbn=978-81-260-1342-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPJ7jqVSl34C&pg=RA1-PA144&dq= | page=144}}</ref>

Chattopadhyay wrote the poem in a spontaneous session using words from [[Sanskrit]] and [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. The poem was published in Chattopadhyay's book ''[[Anandamath]]'' in 1882, which is set in the events of the Sannyasi Rebellion.<ref name=Lipner>{{cite book |last=Lipner |first=Julius|author-link=Julius J. Lipner |title=Anandamath |url=https://archive.org/details/anandamathorsacr00chat |url-access=limited |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-517858-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/anandamathorsacr00chat/page/n41 27]–59}}</ref><ref name="mustard" /> [[Jadunath Bhattacharya]] was asked to set a tune for this poem just after it was written.<ref name="mustard" />

===Indian independence movement===
[[File:Flag of India 1907 (Nationalists Flag).svg|thumb|220px|Flag of India 1907]]
"Vande Mataram" was one of the most popular songs of protest during the [[Indian independence movement]]. The colonial government in response banned the book and made the recital of the song in public a crime.<ref name="Chatterji2005p71">{{cite book|author=Bankimcandra Chatterji|title=Anandamath, or The Sacred Brotherhood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuzkrT6WuQ0C&pg=PA71|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-803971-6|pages=71–78}}</ref> The colonial government imprisoned many [[Indian independence movement|independence activists]] for disobeying the order, but workers and general public repeatedly violated the ban many times by gathering together in the presence of colonial officials and singing it.<ref name="Chatterji2005p71"/> Rabindranath Tagore sang "Vande Mataram" in 1896 at the [[Calcutta]] Congress Session held at Beadon Square. Dakhina Charan Sen sang it five years later in 1901 at another session of the Congress at [[Calcutta]]. Poet Sarala Devi Chaudurani sang the song in the [[Benares]] Congress Session in 1905. [[Lala Lajpat Rai]] started a journal called "Vande Mataram" from [[Lahore]].<ref name="mustard" /> [[Hiralal Sen]] made India's first political film in 1905 which ended with the chant. [[Matangini Hazra]]'s last words as she was shot to death by the [[Crown colony|Crown police]] were "Vande Mataram".<ref name="Local">{{cite book | last = Chakrabarty | first = Bidyut | year = 1997 | title = Local Politics and Indian Nationalism: Midnapur (1919–1944) | publisher = Manohar | location = New Delhi | page = 167 }}</ref>

[[File:MKGandhi.jpg|thumb|Mahatma Gandhi supported the first two verses of Vande Mataram as a national song.<ref name=gandhi1939vm>[http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-76.pdf The National Flag] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316183933/http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-76.pdf |date=16 March 2015 }}, ''The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi'', Volume 76, 27 June 1939, pages 68–70 with footnote 1 on page 69</ref>]]
On 20 May 1906 in [[Barisal]] (now [[Bangladesh]]), more than ten thousand people , [[Hindus]] and [[Muslims]] together  marched with ''Vande Mataram'' flags in a landmark nationalist procession.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-06 |title=Vande Mataram: The first proclamation of cultural nationalism |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/vande-mataram-the-first-proclamation-of-cultural-nationalism-101762442071858.html |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Purani. Life of Sri Aurobindo |url=https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/workings/purani/00/life_of_sri_aurobindo_e.htm |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=sri-aurobindo.co.in}}</ref>

In 1907, [[Bhikaiji Cama]] (1861–1936) created the first version of India's national flag (the [[Tiranga]]) in [[Stuttgart]], Germany, in 1907. It had "Vande Mataram" written on it in the middle band.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rajyasabha.nic.in/photo/pm/p2.html |title=p2<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306143120/http://www.rajyasabha.nic.in/photo/pm/p2.html |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A book titled ''Kranti Geetanjali'' published by Arya Printing Press ([[Lahore]]) and Bharatiya Press ([[Dehradun]]) in 1929 contains the first two stanzas of the lyrics on page 11<ref>''Kranti Geetanjali'' (Poems of Pt. Ram Prasad 'Bismil'), {{ISBN|81-7783-128-3}}.</ref> as ''Matra Vandana'', and a ghazal composed by Bismil was also given on its back, i.e. page 12.<ref>*''Kranti Geetanjali'' {{ISBN|81-7783-128-3}}.</ref> The book written by the famous [[martyr]] of [[Kakori]] Pandit [[Ram Prasad Bismil]] was proscribed by the colonial government.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Mahatama Gandhi supported adoption and the singing of the Vande Mataram song. In January 1946, in a speech given in [[Guwahati]] ([[Colonial Assam|Assam]]), he urged that "Jai Hind should not replace Vande-mataram". He reminded everyone present that Vande-mataram was being sung since the inception of the Congress. He supported the "Jai Hind" greeting, but remanded that this greeting should not be to the exclusion of Vande Mataram. Gandhi was concerned that those who discarded Vande Mataram given the tradition of sacrifice behind it, one day would discard "Jai Hind" also.<ref>[http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-89.pdf Speech at Prayer Meeting (Guwahati, Assam)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316185043/http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-89.pdf |date=16 March 2015 }}, ''The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi'', 10 January 1946, page 212</ref>{{refn|group=note|This view of Gandhi was not isolated. In another interview, he said, "a song that carried such glorious associations of sacrifice as "Vandemataram" could never be given up. It would be like discarding one’s mother. But they could certainly add a new song or songs like the one mentioned to their repertoire of national songs after due thought and discrimination."<ref>[http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-89.pdf Discussion with Political Workers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316185043/http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-89.pdf |date=16 March 2015 }}, ''The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi'', 1945, page 89</ref>}}

===Adoption as national song of India===
Parts of the "Vande Mataram" was chosen as the national song in 1937 by the [[Indian National Congress]] as it pursued the independence of India from colonial rule, after a committee consisting of [[Maulana Azad]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], [[Subhash Chandra Bose]], Acharya Deva, and [[Rabindranath Tagore]] recommended the adoption.<ref name=noorani1039>A. G. Noorani (1973), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4362722 Vande Mataram: A Historical Lesson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221011512/http://www.jstor.org/stable/4362722 |date=21 February 2017 }}, EPW, Vol. 8, No. 23 (9 Jun. 1973), pages 1039–1043</ref> The entire song was not selected by Hindu leaders in order to respect the sentiments of non-Hindus, and the gathering agreed that anyone should be free to sing an alternate "unobjectionable song" at a national gathering if they do not want to sing Vande Mataram because they find it "objectionable" for a personal reason.<ref name=noorani1039/> According to the gathered leaders, including the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, through the first two stanzas began with an unexceptionable evocation of the beauty of the motherland, in later stanzas there are references to the Hindu goddess [[Durga]]. Tagore believed Vande Matram could not unite all communities.<ref name="p314"/> The [[All-India Muslim League]] and [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] completely opposed the song in 1937.

In 1937, Indian National Congress President [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] asked Tagore for his views on Vande Matram.<ref name="p314">{{cite book | title=Muslim India | publisher=Muslim India | date=2006 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MP9tAAAAMAAJ& | page=36}}</ref><ref name="h135">{{cite book | last=Banerjee | first=Sandeep | title=Space, Utopia and Indian Decolonization: Literary Pre-Figurations of the Postcolony | publisher=Routledge | date=2019-03-21 | isbn=978-0-429-68640-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azn3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83&dq | page=83}}</ref> Tagore replied:

{{blockquote|The core of Vande Mataram is a hymn to goddess Durga: this is so plain that there can be no debate about it. Of course Bankim Chandra does show Durga to be inseparably united with Bengal in the end, but no Mussulman can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as 'Swadesh' [our native land]. . . . The novel Anandamath is a work of literature, and so the song is appropriate in it. But Parliament is a place of union for all religious groups, and there the song cannot be appropriate.}}


Thereafter, with the support of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas as the national song to be sung at public gatherings, and other verses that included references to Durga and [[Lakshmi]] were removed.<ref name=gandhi1939vm/><ref>{{cite book|author=Marie Cruz Gabriel|title=A Silence in the City and Other Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiklIzcTIYUC&pg=PA238|year=1996|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-0828-6|pages=238–240}}</ref>

[[Rajendra Prasad]], who was presiding the [[Constituent Assembly]] on 24 January 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:

<blockquote>...The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. (Applause). I hope this will satisfy the Members.
:—''Constituent Assembly of India'', Vol. XII, 24-1-1950<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://164.100.47.194/loksabha/writereaddata/cadebatefiles/C24011950.html |title = Constituent Assembly of India Debates}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Identification with Mother India and Mother Bengal ===

While the poem is an ode to the motherland, and the text does not explicitly name the figure, the question of its intended subject is debated. Even though some argue that, the poem initially refers to [[Banga Mata|Mother Bengal]]<ref name=ma1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.counterview.net/2017/08/bankims-vande-mataram-originally.html|title = Bankim's Vande Mataram originally referred to Banga Mata not Bharat Mata: Netaji's grand nephew in new book| date=18 August 2017 }}</ref><ref name="ma2">{{Cite web |title=PM Modi on Vande Mataram: ‘यहां कोई नेतृत्व या विपक्ष नहीं’, वंदे मातरम गीत को लेकर PM मोदी ने कही बड़ी बात, बताया क्यों ये गीत बनाता है भारत को एकजुट… |url=https://www.ibc24.in/top-news/pm-modi-said-a-big-thing-about-the-song-vande-mataram-did-you-hear-it-3373458.html |website=IBC24 News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vande Matram Debate in Parliament: लोकसभा में 'वन्दे मातरम' पर चर्चा शुरू.. PM मोदी बोले, 'वंदे मातरम' का स्मरण करना हम सबका सौभाग्य है".. |url=https://www.ibc24.in/country/pm-modi-begins-discussion-on-vande-mataram-in-the-lok-sabha-3373417.html |website=IBC24 News}}</ref><ref name="ma3">{{Cite web |title=PM Modi On Vande Mataram: ''1947 में देश को वंदे मातरम् ने दिलाई आज़ादी'', राष्ट्रीय गीत को लेकर संसद ने पीएम मोदी ने कही ये बड़ी बातें |url=https://www.ibc24.in/country/pm-modi-said-these-important-things-in-parliament-regarding-vande-mataram-3373427.html |website=IBC24 News}}</ref> a view supported by Sri Aurobindo, who referred to it as the "National Anthem of Bengal,"<ref>[[Sri Aurobindo]] commented on his English translation of the poem, "It is difficult to translate the National Anthem of Bengal into verse in another language owing to its unique union of sweetness, simple directness and high poetic force." Cited in Bhabatosh Chatterjee (ed.), ''Bankim Chandra Chatterjee: Essays in Perspective'', Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, 1994, p. 601.</ref> conversely, a more substantial number of bipartisan political parties, historians and national sources emphasize the poem's broader significance as a pan-Indian symbol: it was officially adopted by the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) for all-India use in 1905 and again by the Congress Working Committee in 1937 when it was sung by the [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel laureate]] [[Rabindranath Tagore]] to serve as a militant salutation to [[Bharat Mata]] (Mother India), a concept integral to the pan-Indian [[Indian independence movement]] against the colonial [[British Raj]].<ref name="PIB-Anthem1"/><ref name="CWC-1937">{{cite web|url=https://testbook.com/question-answer/the-constituent-assembly-adopted-the-national-song--60bdaf04e369d186f561321b|title=Vande Mataram adoption by Congress (1937)|work=Testbook|access-date=27 November 2025|quote=The first two verses of the song were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by the Congress Working Committee prior to the end of colonial rule in August 1947.}}</ref> Its status as a symbol of the larger national resistance culminated in the Constituent Assembly granting it official status as the National Song in 1950, to be honoured equally with the National Anthem.<ref name="National Portal">{{cite web|url=https://www.india.gov.in/india-glance/national-symbols|title=National Symbols|work=National Portal of India (Government of India)|publisher=National Informatics Centre (NIC)|access-date=23 January 2020|quote=The song Vande Mataram, which played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with the National Anthem of India, and shall have equal status with it.}}</ref><ref name="Britannica-VM">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Vande Mataram|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vande-Mataram|access-date=27 November 2025|quote=Part of the poem, greatly regarded for its nationalist vision of India as a goddess, was set to music and became the foremost of Indian patriotic songs. It was unofficially adopted as the national song... when independent India became a republic in 1950.}}</ref> Adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24 January 1950, Vande Mataram is the national song of the Republic of India, sharing equal honour with the national anthem, [[Jana Gana Mana]].<ref name=rh1/> This status was initially affirmed by President Rajendra Prasad,<ref name=rh1/> and reaffirmed by the [[Madras High Court]] in 2017,<ref name=rh2/> and the [[Bhartiya Janta Party]]-ruled [[Government of India]] in November 2022, despite the Constitution of India containing no explicit reference to a "national song".<ref name=rh3/>

The poem played a vital role in the [[Indian independence movement]]. It first gained political significance when it was recited by [[Rabindranath Tagore]] at Congress in 1896.<ref name="National Song of India">{{cite web| url=http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=12| title=National Song of India| publisher=[[Government of India]]| access-date=29 April 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115003651/http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=12| archive-date=15 January 2013}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=National Song|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-song.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818235841/http://knowindia.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-song.php|archive-date=18 August 2017|url-status=dead|website=knowindia.gov.in}}</ref><ref name="Eck2012p95">{{cite book|author=Diana L. Eck|author-link=Diana L. Eck|title=India: A Sacred Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uD_0P6gS-vMC|year=2012|publisher=New York: Random House (Harmony Books)|isbn=978-0-385-53190-0|pages=95–97}}</ref> By 1905, it had become popular amongst political activists and freedom fighters as a marching song.<ref name="Eck2012p95" /> The first two verses of the poem were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]].<ref name="gandhi1939vm" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Sabyasachi Bhattacharya|title=Bande Mataram, the Biography of a Song|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJqfAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-303055-3|pages=17–24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=S. K. BOSE|title=Bankim Chandra Chatterji|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytOhDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT89| year=2015 |publisher= Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn =978-81-230-2269-7 |pages=88–92}}</ref> The song, as well as ''Anandmath'', were banned under [[British Raj|British colonial rule]] under threat of imprisonment, making its use revolutionary. The ban was ultimately overturned by the [[Government of India|Indian government]] upon [[Indian Independence Act 1947|independence]] in 1947.<ref name="Chatterji2005p71" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Aurobindo Mazumdar|title=Bande Mataram and Islam|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4YBhMfAgxIkC&pg=PA18 |year= 2007|publisher= Mittal Publications|isbn= 978-81-8324-159-5|pages=18–22, 30–31}}</ref>

==Official status as the National Song==
{{anchor | Legal }}

On 24 January 1950, the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] adopted "Vande Mataram" as the national song of the Republic of India. [[President of India]] [[Rajendra Prasad]] stated that the song should be honoured equally with the national anthem of India, "[[Jana Gana Mana]]".<ref name=rh1>{{cite web|url=https://www.india.gov.in/india-glance/national-symbols|access-date=23 January 2020|title=National Symbols &#124; National Portal of India}}</ref> 

In July 2017, the Madras High Court ruled that the "Vande Mataram" shall be sung or played at least once a week in all schools, universities and other educational institutions of Tamil Nadu. The Court also ruled that the song should be played or sung in government offices and industrial facilities at least once a month.<ref name=rh2>[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/vande-mataram-singing-mandatory-madras-high-court-sanskrit-bengali-1026149-2017-07-25 Madras High Court makes Vande Mataram mandatory in schools and colleges] , India Today (25 July 2017)</ref>

In November 2022, the [[Government of India|Government]] filed an ''[[affidavit]]'' at the [[Delhi High Court]], stating that "Jana Gana Mana" and "Vande Mataram" would "stand on the same level" and should be accorded equal respect by citizens,<ref name=rh3>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jana-gana-vande-mataram-stand-on-same-level-govt-in-hc/articleshow/95343138.cms|title=Jana Gana & Vande Mataram 'stand on same level': Govt in HC|date=2022-11-07|website=Times of India|language=en|access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref> even though the Constitution of India does not make an explicit reference to a "national song".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/delhi-hc-dismisses-plea-declare-vande-mataram-national-anthem-song-5855588/|title=HC dismisses plea to declare 'Vande Mataram' as national anthem or song|date=2019-07-27|website=The Indian Express|language=en-IN|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/no-concept-of-national-song-in-constitution-says-sc/story-UYFUDprZTPnLUorcQIJ6dJ.html|title=No concept of National Song in Constitution, says SC|date=2017-02-17|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>

==Lyrics==

===Bengali and Hindi===

The first two verses of "Vande Mataram" adopted as the national song of India read as follows:

{|style="width: 70%;"
|- style="text-align: left;"
<!--please do not change the vowels in this passage. If they show up in the wrong place on your computer, it's a problem with your browser, not with the article.-->
!style="width: 20%;" | [[Bengali alphabet|Bengali script]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vignanam.org/veda/vande-mataram-bengali.html |title=''Vande Mataram'' in Bengali script |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002190121/http://www.vignanam.org/veda/vande-mataram-bengali.html |archive-date=2 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
!style="width: 30%;" | [[Romanisation of Bengali]] ([[ISO 15919]])&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
!style="width: 20%;" | [[Devanagari|Devanagari script]]
!style="width: 30%;" |[[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]] transliteration<ref name="National Song of India"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vignanam.org/veda/vande-mataram-english.html |title=''Vande Mataram'' in Romanized Sanskrit |access-date=31 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002190045/http://www.vignanam.org/veda/vande-mataram-english.html |archive-date=2 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|<!--please do not change the vowels in this passage. If they show up in the wrong place on your computer, it may be due to a problem with your browser, and not the article itself.--><poem>বন্দে মাতরম্৷
সুজলাং সুফলাং
মলয়জশীতলাম্
শস্যশ্যামলাং
মাতরম্!
বন্দে মাতরম্৷.

শুভ্র-জ্যোৎস্না
পুলকিত-যামিনীম্
ফুল্লকুসুমিত
দ্রুমদলশোভিনীম্,
সুহাসিনীং
সুমধুরভাষিণীম্
সুখদাং বরদাং
মাতরম্৷৷
বন্দে মাতরম্৷
</poem>
|
<poem>
Bandē mātaram
sujalāṁ suphalāṁ
malaẏajaśītalām
śasyaśyāmalāṁ
mātaram!
Bandē mātaram.

Śubhra-jyōṯsnā
pulakita-yāminīm
phullakusumita
drumadalaśōbhinīm,
suhāsinīṁ
sumadhurabhāṣiṇīm
sukhadāṁ baradāṁ
mātaram!
Bandē mātaram.
</poem>
|
<poem>
वन्दे मातरम्।
सुजलाम् सुफलाम्
मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्यश्यामलाम् मातरम्।
वन्दे मातरम्।

शुभ्रज्योत्स्नाम्
पुलकितयामिनीम्
फुल्लकुसुमित
द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्
सुहासिनीम्
सुमधुर भाषिणीम्
सुखदाम् वरदाम्
मातरम्॥
वन्दे मातरम्।
</poem>
|
<poem>
{{IAST|vande mātaram}}
{{IAST|sujalāṃ suphalāṃ}}
{{IAST|malayajaśītalām}}
{{IAST|śasyaśyāmalāṃ}}
{{IAST|mātaram}}
{{IAST|vande mātaram}}

{{IAST|śubhrajyotsnām}}
{{IAST|pulakitayāminīm}}
{{IAST|phullakusumita }}
{{IAST|drumadalaśobhinīm}}
{{IAST|suhāsinīṃ}}
{{IAST|sumadhura bhāṣhiṇīm}}
{{IAST|sukhadāṃ varadāṃ}}
{{IAST|mātaram}}
{{IAST|vande mātaram}}</poem>
|

|}<!--IAST template needed to display special characters properly on IE6-->

===Full lyrics===
The complete original lyrics of the "Vande Mataram" are available at {{cite wikisource |title=Vande Mataram}}
[[File:A rare painting of our national song, Vande Mataram, published in 1923.jpg|thumb|500px|left|A rare painting of Indian national song, Vande Mataram, published in 1923]]
{|class="toccolours" cellpadding="15" rules="cols"
!{{lang|bn|বন্দে মাতরম্}} ([[Bengali Script|Bengali]] original)
![[Romanisation of Bengali|Sanskritised romanization]] ([[ISO 15919]])
!{{lang|hi|वन्दे मातरम्}} ([[Devanagari transliteration]])
|-
|
{{lang|bn|<blockquote><poem>
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷
সুজলাং সুফলাং
মলয়জশীতলাম্
শস্যশ্যামলাং
মাতরম্ !
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷

শুভ্রজ্যোৎস্না-পুলকিতযামিনীম্
ফুল্লকুসুমিত-দ্রুমদলশোভিনীম্,
সুহাসিনীং সুমধুরভাষিণীম্
সুখদাং বরদাং মাতরম্ ৷৷
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷

সপ্তকোটীকণ্ঠ-কলকল-নিনাদকরালে,
দ্বিসপ্তকোটীভুজৈর্ধৃতখরকরবালে,
অবলা কেন মা এত বলে !
বহুবলধারিণীং
নমামি তারিণীং
রিপুদলবারিণীং
মাতরম্ ৷
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷

তুমি বিদ্যা তুমি ধর্ম্ম{{efn|Sometimes written as ধর্ম}}
তুমি হৃদি তুমি মর্ম্ম{{efn|Sometimes written as মর্ম}}
ত্বং হি প্রাণাঃ শরীরে ৷
বাহুতে তুমি মা শক্তি,
হৃদয়ে তুমি মা ভক্তি,
তোমারই প্রতিমা গড়ি মন্দিরে মন্দিরে ৷

ত্বং হি দুর্গা দশপ্রহরণধারিণী
কমলা কমল-দলবিহারিণী
বাণী বিদ্যাদায়িণী
নমামি ত্বাং
নমামি কমলাম্
অমলাং অতুলাম্,
সুজলাং সুফলাং
মাতরম্

বন্দে মাতরম্
শ্যামলাং সরলাং
সুস্মিতাং ভূষিতাম্
ধরণীং ভরণীম্
মাতরম্ ৷
বন্দে মাতরম্ ৷
</poem></blockquote>}}
|
<blockquote><poem>
Vande Mātaram.
Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ
Malaẏajaśītalām
Śasyaśyāmalāṃ
Mātaram.
Vande Mātaram.

Śubhra-jyotsnā-pulakita-yāminīm
Phullakusumita-drumadalaśobhinīm,
Suhāsinīṃ sumadhurabhāṣinīm
Sukhadāṃ varadāṃ Mātaram.
Vande Mātaram.

Saptakoṭīkanṭha-kala-kala-ninādakarāle
Dvisaptakoṭībhujaidhṛtakharakaravāle,
Avalā kena mā eta bale!
Vahuvaladhāriṇīṃ
Namāmi tāriṇīṃ
Ripudalavāriṇīṃ
Mātaram.
Vande Mātaram.

Tumi vidyā tumi dharmma
Tumi hṛdi tumi marmma
Tvaṃ hi prāṇāḥ śarīre.
Bāhute tumi mā śhakti,
Hṛdaẏe tumi mā bhakti,
Tomārai pratimā gaṛi mandire mandire.

Tvaṃ hi Durgā daśapraharaṇadhārinī
Kamalā kamala-dalavihāriṇī
Vānī vidyādāẏiṇī
Namāmi tvaṃ
Namāmi kamalām
Amalāṃ atulām,
Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ
Mātaram
Vande Mātaram.

Vande Mātaram
Śyāmalāṃ saralāṃ
Susmitāṃ bhūṣitām
Dharaṇīṃ bharanīm
Mātaram.
</poem></blockquote>
|
{{lang|hi|<blockquote><poem>
वन्दे मातरम्
सुजलां सुफलाम्
मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्यश्यामलाम्
मातरम्।

शुभ्रज्योत्स्नापुलकितयामिनीम्
फुल्लकुसुमितद्रुमदलशोभिनीम्
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम्
सुखदां वरदां मातरम्॥

सप्त-कोटि-कण्ठ-कल-कल-निनाद-कराले
द्विसप्त-कोटि-भुजैर्धृत-खरकरवाले,
अवला केन मा एत वले
वहुवलधारिणीं
नमामि तारिणीं
रिपुदलवारिणीं
मातरम्॥

तुमि विद्या, तुमि धर्म
तुमि हृदि, तुमि मर्म
त्वम् हि प्राणा: शरीरे
बाहुते तुमि मा शक्ति,
हृदये तुमि मा भक्ति,
तोमारई प्रतिमा गडी मन्दिरे-मन्दिरे॥

त्वम् हि दुर्गा दशप्रहरणधारिणी
कमला कमलदलविहारिणी
वाणी विद्यादायिनी,
नमामि त्वाम्
नमामि कमलाम्
अमलां अतुलाम्
सुजलां सुफलाम्
मातरम्॥

वन्दे मातरम्
श्यामलाम् सरलाम्
सुस्मिताम् भूषिताम्
धरणीं भरणीं
मातरम्॥
</poem></blockquote>}}
|}

==Translation==
[[File:1909magazine vijaya.jpg|thumb|250px|Cover of a 1909 issue of the Tamil magazine ''Vijaya'' showing "Mother India" ([[Bharat Mata]]) with her diverse progeny and the rallying cry "Vande Mataram"]]

===English translation===
The first translation of [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]'s novel ''[[Anandamath]]'', including the poem "Vande Mataram", into English was by [[Nares Chandra Sen-Gupta]], with the fifth edition published in 1906 titled "The Abbey of Bliss".<ref name="Chatterji2005">{{cite book|author=Bankimcandra Chatterji|title=Anandamath, or The Sacred Brotherhood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4WTZkBLct0C&pg=PA44|date=23 August 2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534633-6|pages=44–}}</ref>

Here is the translation in [[prose]] of the above two stanzas rendered by [[Sri Aurobindo|Sri Aurobindo Ghosh]]. This has also been adopted by the Government of India's national portal.<ref name="National Song of India"/> The original "Vande Mataram" consists of six stanzas and the translation in [[prose]] for the complete poem by [[Shri Aurobindo]] appeared in ''Karmayogin'', 20 November 1909.<ref>{{cite book|author=Aurobindo Mazumdar|title=Vande Mataram and Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YBhMfAgxIkC&pg=PA4|year=2007|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-8324-159-5|pages=4–6}}</ref>

<blockquote><poem>
Mother,I praise thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Cool with the winds of delight,
Dark fields waving, Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease,
Laughing low and sweet,
Mother, I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low,
Mother, to thee I bow. [Verse 1]

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands,
When the swords flash out in seventy million hands,
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and strong,
To thee I call, Mother and Lord!
Thou who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foemen drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free. [Verse 2]

Thou art wisdom, thou art [[dharma|law]],
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Thou art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image divine.
In our temples is but thine. [Verse 3]

Thou art Goddess [[Durga]], Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen,
Thou art Goddess Kamala ([[Lakshmi]]), [[Lotus throne|lotus-throned]],
And Goddess Vani ([[Saraswati]]), bestower of wisdom known
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair [Verse 4]

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free! [Verse 5]
</poem></blockquote>

[[File:Bankim chandra chattopadhyay.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]]]
[[File:Sri aurobindo.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Sri Aurobindo Ghose]]]]

Apart from the above [[prose]] translation, [[Sri Aurobindo]] also translated "Vande Mataram" into a [[verse (poetry)|verse]] form known as "Mother, I Praise Thee".<ref name="sanyal">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sanyal.com/india/vande.html |title=Sri Aurobindo's VERSE translation of ''Vande Mataram''  |access-date=31 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927012813/http://www.sanyal.com/india/vande.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Sri Aurobindo]] commented on his English translation of the poem that "[it] is difficult to translate the National Song of India into verse in another language owing to its unique union of sweetness, simple directness and high poetic force."<ref>Bhabatosh Chatterjee (ed.), ''Bankim Chandra Chatterjee: Essays in Perspective'', Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, 1994, p. 601.</ref>

===Translation into other languages===
"Vande Mataram" has inspired many Indian poets and has been translated into numerous Indian languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Odia, Malayalam, Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, and others.<ref>{{cite book|author=Aurobindo Mazumdar|title=Vande Mataram and Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YBhMfAgxIkC&pg=PA23 |year=2007 |publisher= Mittal Publications|isbn =978-81-8324-159-5|pages=23–34}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The Assamese version, re-translated into English, reads:<ref>{{cite book|author=Aurobindo Mazumdar|title=Vande Mataram and Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YBhMfAgxIkC&pg=PA23 |year=2007 |publisher= Mittal Publications|isbn =978-81-8324-159-5|pages=26–27}}</ref><br>"O my own land,<br>O my dear land,<br>O my dear land,<br>A land bedecked with gentle streams,<br>A land that adorned with heavenly beauty,<br>It is such a motherland." – Lakshminath Bezbarua, Translated into English by A Mazumdar}}

[[Arif Mohammad Khan]] translated "Vande Mataram" into [[Urdu]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/unnecessary-and-irrelevant/232420|title=Unnecessary And Irrelevant|website=Outlook India|date=6 September 2006 |access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref> It can be read in Urdu ([[Devanagari]] script) as:
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap;"
|-
!Devanagari script!! [[Nastaliq]] {{small|(original orthography)}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|<poem>तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात
तू भरी है मीठे पानी से
फल फूलों की शादाबी से
दक्खिन की ठंडी हवाओं से
फसलों की सुहानी फ़िज़ाओं से
तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात
तेरी रातें रौशन चांद से
तेरी रौनक सब्ज़-ए-फ़ाम से
तेरी प्यार भरी मुस्कान है
तेरी मीठी बहुत ज़ुबां है
तेरी बांहों में मेरी राहत है
तेरे क़दमों में मेरी जन्नत है
तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/education/gk-update/urdu-translation-of-vande-matram-by-arif-mohammed-khan/articleshow/70932050.cms|title=केरल के गवर्नर बने आरिफ मोहम्मद खान, पढ़ें वंदे मातरम का उर्दू में उनका अनुवाद|website=Navbharat Times|language=hi|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref></poem>
|<poem>{{nq|تسلیمات، ماں تسلیمات
تُو بھری ہیں میٹھے پانی سے
پھل پھولوں کی شادابی سے
دکھن کی ٹھنڈی ہواؤں سے
پھسلوں کی سُہانی فضاؤں سے
تسلیمات، ماں تسلیمات
تیری راتیں روشن چاند سے
تیری رونک سبزِ فام سے
تیری پیار بھری مسکان ہے
تیری میٹھی بہت زُباں ہے
تیری باہوں میں میری راحت ہے
تیرے قدموں میں میری جنت ہے
تسلیمات، ماں تسلیمات}}</poem>
|}

==Ongoing demand for national anthem status==
{{anchor | Future | Demand }}

Despite the Constituent Assembly of India declaring "Vande Mataram" as the "National Song of India" with "equal honour" to the National Anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana", an intermittent political and legal demands persists regarding the elevating the status of Vande Mataram to the national anthem.<ref name="Britannica-VM"/> Advocates for elevating Vande Mataram to the status of national anthem often cite its pivotal role as the rallying cry of the Indian independence movement, arguing that its historical significance and revolutionary background surpass that of the current anthem.<ref name="PIB-Anthem1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2186984|title=150 Years of Vande Mataram (PIB)|work=Press Information Bureau (Government of India)|date=6 November 2025|access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> This demand has led to several [[Public interest litigation|PIL]] pleas in various courts, including the [[Delhi High Court]], seeking a directive to grant it equal status to, or replace, "Jana Gana Mana"; however, such petitions have historically been dismissed, with courts noting that the decision is not a matter for judicial interference.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/hc-dismisses-plea-seeking-to-declare-vande-mataram-national-anthem-or-national-song/articleshow/70391768.cms|title=HC dismisses plea seeking to declare 'Vande Mataram' national anthem or national song|date=26 July 2019}}</ref> But, these persistent demands continue to resurface.<ref>[https://theprint.in/opinion/bengal-tagore-bankim-marx-market/2792937/ Bengal is more Tagore than Bankim, more Marx than market], The Print, 27 Nov 2025.</ref>

== 150 Years completion of Vande Mataram ==
Year 2025 marks completion of 150 years of publication of Vande Mataram, first published on 7 November 1875.  The event is acknowledged by the [[Narendra Modi]] government as a celebration of the song.<ref name="PIB-Anthem1" /> A parliamentary discussion has been scheduled in [[Lok Sabha]] on 8 December 2025 to mark this anniversary and to spotlight lesser known facets of the song’s history and legacy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anand |first=Akriti |date=2025-12-08 |title=Why is Parliament holding special debate on 150-year-old Vande Mataram today? {{!}} Today News |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/vande-mataram-special-debate-lok-sabha-parliament-on-150-year-old-today-december-8-11765172888614.html |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref> The discussion is as an attempt to redefine and reinforce national identity through the lens of the song, its legacy, and what it stands for today.<ref>{{Cite web |last=लाइव |first=एबीपी |date=2025-12-07 |title=वंदे मातरम पर संसद में 10 घंटे बहस... अटैक मोड में होंगे PM मोदी, कांग्रेस करेगी डिफेंड! |url=https://www.abplive.com/news/india/vande-mataram-debate-in-parliament-narendra-modi-priyanka-gandhi-rahul-gandhi-congress-bjp-winter-session-3054928 |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=ABP News |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vande Mataram Debate: Lok Sabha to Discuss National Song on its150th Anniversary |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/vande-mataram-debate-why-is-parliament-discussing-national-song-composed-150-years-ago-3823372 |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref>

==In popular culture ==
{{anchor | Popular }}

The poem has been set to a large number of tunes. The oldest surviving audio recordings date to 1907, and there have been more than a hundred different versions recorded throughout the 20th century. Many of these versions have employed traditional [[India|Indian]] [[Hindustani classical music|classical]] [[raga]]s. Versions of the song have been visualised on celluloid in a number of films, including ''[[Leader (1964 film)|Leader]]'', ''[[Amar Asha]]'', and ''[[Anand Math]]''. It is widely believed that the tune set for [[All India Radio]] station version was composed by [[Ravi Shankar]].<ref name="mustard" /> [[Hemant Kumar]] composed music for the song in the movie [[Anand Math]] in 1952. Many singers like [[Lata Mangeshkar]], [[K.S.Chithra]] sung made it cult classic.<ref name=red>[http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2003/jun/02dinesh.htm Pradeep Kumar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182846/http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2003/jun/02dinesh.htm |date=3 March 2016 }} ''[[Rediff.com]]''.</ref> In 2002, [[BBC World Service]] conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. "Vande Mataram", from the movie ''[[Anand Math]]'', was ranked second.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/us/features/topten/profiles/index.shtml The Worlds Top Ten]  — BBC World Service</ref> All India Radio's version and some other versions are in [[Desh (raga)|Desh]] [[raga]].<ref>{{cite web |title=PM Modi Live in Parliament: "देशभक्तों को जेल मे डाला तो 'वंदे मातरम' गीत ने हमें आजादी के लिए प्रेरित किया".. |url=https://www.ibc24.in/country/pm-narendra-modi-is-participating-in-a-special-discussion-on-vande-mataram-in-parliament-3373459.html |website=IBC24 News}}</ref>

* [[Vande Mataram (album)]], 1997 studio album by Indian musician [[A. R. Rehman]].

* [[Vandae Maatharam]], 2010 Indian action film in Malyalam and Tamil featuring [[Mammootty]] and [[Arjun Sarja]]

==See also==
{{Portal|India}}

* Anthems and mottos
** [[Jana Gana Mana]], the Indian national anthem
** [[Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate]], anthem in Kannada language for Mother India
** [[Shubh Sukh Chain]], another anthem which became popular during Indian freedom movement
** [[List of Indian state anthems]]

* [[National god]]
** [[National personification]]
** [[Tutelary deity]]
** [[Bangamata|Banga Mata]], Mother Bangla
** [[Bharat Mata]], Mother India
** [[Tamil Thai]], Mother Tamil
** [[Telugu Thalli]], Mother Telugu
** [[Telangana Thalli]], Mother Telangana

* Other
** [[Anandmath]], the novel from which "Vande Mataram" gained popularity
** [[National Pledge (India)|National Pledge of India]]
** [[Vande Mataram (album)|''Vande Mataram'' (album)]]

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, ''Vande Mataram: The Biography of a Song'', Penguin Books, 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-14-303055-3}}.

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |title=The Home and the World |first=Sir Rabindranath |last=Tagore |author-link=Rabindranath Tagore |others=Trans. from Bengali by [[Surendranath Tagore]] |location=London |publisher=MacMillan & Co. |year=1919 |orig-year=1916 |url=https://archive.org/details/homeandworld01unkngoog |oclc=228705970}} Bande (with a B rather than a V) Mataram plays a great part in this novel about a Bengali family.
* "Vande Mataram : Biography of a Song" by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Publisher:Penguin, {{ISBN|9780143030553}}

==External links==
<!-- This section is linked from Vande Mataram -->
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource}}
'''Vocals'''
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VReFdmBl0w&si=fs8m_sWhCcEAoC8c Vande Mataram] [[Hemant Kumar]] & [[Lata Mangeshkar]] in Anand Math(1951).
*[https://www.youtube.com/watc?v=iGWqGtPFbDQ&si=hkZbAil5lZaMyUgR] [[Hemant Kumar]] from the film Anand Math(1951) Original Version.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6PHJg9D_Sk Vande Mataram], Lata Mangeshkar in Anand Math (4:57 minutes)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t-qE2wTshs Vande Mataram], Amruta Suresh and Abhirami Suresh (4:36 minutes)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g8nQuX8dUg Vande Mataram], Group song (1:09 minutes)
'''Debate'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130115003651/http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php?id=12 "National Song" section], Official Portal of the Indian Government
* [http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1601/16010940.htm How Secular is Vande Mataram?], AG Noorani, Frontline
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5300996.stm Boycott threat over Indian song], BBC
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130501125728/http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20060902&fname=vandemataram&sid=4 1937 Congress Resolution on validity of Muslim objection to this song], Outlook India

{{Symbols of India}}
{{Novels by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay}}

[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Indian patriotic songs]]
[[Category:Indian anthems]]
[[Category:19th-century Sanskrit literature]]
[[Category:Songs in Bengali]]
[[Category:Indian political slogans]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]