Vande Mataram issue is again hogging the limelight and political denominations of all hue are palnning to make a killing. I have nothing to say of them. Such people have been squarely criticized at this blog and elsewhere. For me the issue is that of an individual’s right to practise his religion and be a patriotic citizen at the same time. Suppose I don’t sing Vande Mataram because it clashes with my religious beliefs. Would that make me any less Indian? Would that weaken my resolve to fight and die for the country? More importantly, as a citizen of a democratic society, do I have a choice to to say no to things that are not mandatory, and by not doing them I am not causing any harm to others? We talk about freedom of religion and secularism all the time but still have a blinkered view of them. Why do I need to adhere by somebody else’s benchmark of patriotism. If we are still thinking in terms of society and not individuals and expect everyone to submerge into some greater-common-patriotism then how different are we from let’s say China or Saudi Arabia. Does an individual has the space to stand alone and be different in our society? Would we have that in 10-20 years?
As an Indian Muslim I have to prove my patriotism to others, many times and many times over. A bomb blast, no Sir, please believe us, we did not do it, we condemn it in strongest terms. Does anyone asks hard questions about the failure of our intelligence apparatus, about how many people have ran away to other countries after selling sensitive information, about how it has compromised the security of the common citizen? Vir Sangvi writes about our amazing ability to gloss over facts in lieu of our anti-terror paranoia. Oh and these guys are not singing Vande Mataram. Didn’t I tell you, they are unpatriotic. There loyalties lie elsewhere. Come on, let us make them sing Vande Mataram.
Pankaj Vohra, political editor of Hindustan Times has written a piece on the Vande Mataram issue. He seems to have presumed a lot. I would like to address some of the issues he raises in his article.
1.) Debate over the issue is settled:
No, it is not. Had it been so, Vande Mataram would have been our national anthem and not national song. Muslims have had genuine issues with the text of the song and the context in which it was originally written and consquently used in Anand Math. The committee under Nehru in 1937 which Pankaj cites in his article has this to say of the issue:
“Taking all things into consideration, therefore, the Committee recommend that, wherever Bande Mataram is sung at national gatherings, only the first two stanzas should be sung, with perfect freedom to the organisers to sing any other song of an unobjectionable character, in addition to, or in the place of, the Bande Mataram song.”
The Constituent Assembly reached a compromise decision to accord it the status of national song. Gandhi ji advised Muslims to appreciate its historic association but counselled against any imposition. “No doubt, every act… must be purely voluntary on the part of either partner,” he said at Alipore on August 23, 1947. Now, we have the President of the largest opposition party in India saying that it would be made mandatory in the BJP ruled states.
Bottomline: Vande Mataram can’t and shoudn’t be enforced, neither on an individual nor on a community.
2.) It is AIMPLB and mad mullahs again:
Now we are increasingly seeing educated Muslims that do not toe the line of either All India Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) or rent-a-fatwa-mullahs and are willing to stand up and speak out for themselves. I am totally against mullahs rendering fatwas on the issue. Forcing someone not to sing Vande Mataram is akin to forcing someone to sing the song. Individuals should be able to decide for themselves. I have had my differences with both these groups. This is not about them, this is about me.
Bottomline: I don’t really care what is their stand on the issue.
3.) Vande Mataram is secular:
It is not. Had it been so, there was no need to expunge the last three stanzas of the song. People are acting as if the first two stanzas were written by someone else for a totally different purpose than the last three stanzas. It was basically a song meant to arouse the sentiments of Bengali Hindus against the ruling Muslims by using religious imagery. Nirad C. Chaudhuri writes, “The historical romances of Bankim Chatterjee and Ramesh Chandra Dutt glorified Hindu rebellion against Muslim rule and showed the Muslims in a correspondingly poor light. Chatterjee was positively and fiercely anti-Muslim. We were eager readers of these romances and we readily absorbed their spirit.��? It is true that the song acquired a nationalistic tone during the freedom struggle. It still does not absolve it of its history. For the right-wing backers of the song, this is just a start. Already there are talks of why only two stanzas, why not the entire song? And Rajeev Srinivasan is arguing “mohammedans in india should follow indian norms. after all, they expect indians in saudi arabia to follow saudi norms.” Not many years ago, BJP government in Uttar Pradesh tried to make the recital of Saraswati Vandana compulsory in schools.
Bottomlime: All this makes me wonder what ‘being Indian’ translates to them and their ‘real’ intentions.
4.) Hey its just Sankritized Bengali, in Urdu it is just fine:
Pankaj Vohra quotes an Urdu translation by none other than Arif Muhammad Khan (messiah of Muslims, beacon of hope, harbinger of glad tidings and a surrendered member to BJP). Being a former Union minister and President of A.M.U. are cited as his qualifications. I have heard about sarkaari poets, we have had our fair share of them. But this is the first time I am hearing about a sarkaari translator. I am not a Sankrit pandit (I read it till class 12th) but I am sure what Vande Mataram would translate to in Urdu. Again, people are trying to take two stanzas, out of text and out of context, and making it appear like well-what’s-the-problem-with-it?
Bottomline: The last thing India needs to progress in the 21st century is sarkaari patriotism.
Amidst all this, I have hope for the future. Many of the popular Indian bloggers on the web have supported the individual freedom position. Many Indians who were not aware of the original text and context of the song and the reason why Muslims are uncomfortable with the song are taking a more nuanced position. The only way forward for our country is the Gandhian position of mutual respect and no imposition. Not singing Vande Mataram does not lessen my committment to my country and I would always fight for the right of my fellow Indians (of whatever religion) to recite the song. Others should respect mine.
P.S. Some quotes have been taken from A.G. Noorani’s article, How secular is Vande Mataram?. If you have not read it, please do so. It is worth it.
Wow, I love guys like you.
How difficult is it for you to understand that patriotism can’t be certified by some imaginary check-list? And whatever happened to freedom of expression?
@Andrew:
“And Abhilash, i dont know what is your understanding of History but there can be no bigger travesty of truth than calling Mediaval and Pre British Muslim rulers as secular.There are enough stories of their barbarism.Not that their Hindu counterparts were any less but then during those Periods Muslim rulers ruled most of the country and so they have to take the Lion’s Share of the Blame.”
I suggest you read what I said before disputing it.
No one says patriotism needs a Checklist but then before you talk about Patriotism you need to understand the Concept of a Nation.
What is Indian Nation? What are we all bound by? A nation needs to have something binding Individuals living within its boundaries together.It cannot unfortunately always be Individualists like you stating that my rights of expression are paramount to everything else.So for this country the national Song is a binding Factor which was used by our revolutionaries and freesom fighters to fight for yours and mine Freedom.It is that freedom that you are using to say that your need of Freedom of Expression is paramount to everything else.
Forget about the fact of being Patriotic, many of you are bringing in religion to snap one of the binding factors that we call our nation, India.There was no need for this.Assuming even if the Writer was one of the most fascisr and communal writer, the song metamorphised into something else once that became the adopted song of freedom fighters and founders of the nation, a song that binds us together. Some one mentioned in these posts that Iqbal later on turned communal but even the ” saare jahan se accha” to me is a paen to the glory of our Nation.
So plsease stop this Nitpicking of History and trying to justify anything in the name of Freedom of expression and lets deal with Topics that really needs attention, there are Loads of them.
Andrew:
You are re-hashing the same arguments I tried to address in the post.
Some people don’t consider their nation as a mother deity. Some people find it difficult to dissociate the song from the context it was used in Anand Math. Some people think that there is more to Vande Mataram than just its usage during the freedom struggle. And some people don’t want to sing Vande Mataram for XYZ reasons. These ‘some’ people can still be patriotic. How difficult is it for you to understand?
AG Noorani put it best when he wrote:
Also, I did not got up one day and wrote this article to piss-off some people. It was written last year when the UPA government first initiated and then back-tracked on mandatory singing of Vande Mataram in schools on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. BJP government in Madhya Pradesh went on and made compulsory for every student to sing the song. You can go and cheer/jeer them.
In the very beginning of this article I have denounced the politicization of this controversy. And you are trying to define freedom of expression in a very narrow sense. Freedom of expression involves freedom of acceptance as well as freedom of denial.
Mohib I dnt know what makes you think that i am trying to politice or communalise the issue. I am trying to make a simple point.Let me reitrate my understanding of this website.This website if I am not wrong is for raising issues faced by Indian Muslims and for promoting Dialogues with other communities.
Having said that I still believe that you have attempted to Politicise /communalise the issue by bringing this up. Vande matram itself is not the issue here.I am talking about attitudes.There are some areas in Public Life where Religion needs to be kept out and yet you were not able to resist the temptation to do so.The reason of keeping out religion in some cases is very simple.It mostly leads to potential clashes. If you would have just accepted that Vande Matram is a song for the Glory of the Nation, which it is, there would be no debate.The reason for thinking that way is also very simple. This song was on the Lips of millions of people,both Hindus and Muslims, when they fought for the Independence of this Nation.It is this act which makes this song special and not because it was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.Infact outside Bengal, no one would have probably known Bankim Chatterjee if this song wasnt Picked up by our Freedom fighters.
Now coming to your Point about Freedom of Expression.Freedom of Expression is a Broad Right given to all of us by our constitution.But then Individual Freedom of Expression is not and cannot be all sweeping.The reason is if that becomes the case we would have No Society and No Country.There would only be Freedom of Expression excesses. As I said in my Last Post , In a country of so many Diversities and with multiplicity of language , cultures and customs, we do need some common binding factors that bring forth the concept of a Nation which is India.National Song is one such Thing and that is the reason it needs to be respected.Going by your lopsided Logic we can have any number of questions raised on so many Issues.If your Logic or way of thinking is correct , then tommrrow we can have people from other parts of the country claiming that they will not sing the National Anthem because it is written in one particular language and they dont feel comfortable with that. This is just one example. We can have many other such examples what unjustified and unbridled Freedom of Expression can bring.Then there is something that is Inevitable.We cannot and will not have a country any longer.
In fact you have managed to turn a non issue into an issue. I do believe that all people should sing Vande Matram on their own without any Govt having to pass a law.Govt forcing people to something as basic as this speaks of Intellectual dormancy on part of the Govt. The Thread would have been eminently justified if you have just protested against this Govt Imposition and exhorted Indian Muslims to sing this on their own. However your argument was on the Lines that it is an anti muslim song (which it is not as has been clarified earlier by Gisrish and also beacuse the claim to fame of this song is because of freedom fighters) and then you attempted to cloak it cleverly with right to Freedom of Expression.I sincerely believe Educated Indian Muslims like you at times end up creating more unnecessary issues which actually should not become an issue.
I’ve seen people celebrate india’s defeat and pakistan’s victory in cricket. its definitely covered under freedom of expression too. eventho i defend their freedom of expression, its not something i recommend
Well, Triple it is something that we really cannot call Freedom of Expression especially when it is not done for love of cricket.I myself have great regards for Players like Wasim Akram and Inzamam and have at times cheered Pakistan because they played really well.But these were all for cricketing reasons and not beacuse of religious overtones. These kind of celebrations is carrying the Freedom of Expression a bit too far.Dont think its Freedom of Expression.
Andrew, I think it IS freedom of expression, but my point is that just because something is technically ‘freedom of expression’, it automatically does not become sacrosanct and above scrutiny.
I am a Hindu (a Nair, actually), and a soft Hindutvawadi of sorts – there *is* a need for Hindus to be recognized as a politically conscious group – but even *I* don’t get what’s with the Vande Mataram controversy. No Indian has the right to prescribe exactly how another Indian should express his or her patriotism, or even *whether* one should be “patriotic”. In my opinion, that is the one of the more un-Indian thing you can do.
Again, I’m marvelling at the clarity of thought, and the totally unbiased, well balanced point of view you present.
Pingback: First Anniversary Of IndianMuslims.in | Indian Muslims
I don’t mean to offend anybody,but i am sad i wasted 15 minutes of my life reading the post and all comments over a fight against imaginary enemy against religous beliefs..
We muslims talk about the phrase ‘out of context’ every now and then.Isn’t the whole so called controversy too about a song taken out of context from the novel?? I like the song,its music and stuff,so i’ll sing it..If you don’t like it,don’t sing it..( and i know that is the point what the author tries to convey)
BJP is a bored party picking at lame issues and some mullahs are even more bored,that they found this a reason to issue a fatwa..Again,at the end of the this discussion ,it only helped in adding color to the portray that muslims are against national integrity,are unpatriotic bla bla bla…
I don’t know why some people are too rigid in their beliefs..I don’t think Allah will be offended just by you or me singing a song..Its Islam all about ‘intention in heart’..Wouldn’t it make sense if we sing the song along with fellow citizens,just for the sake of having something in common,and not take those words literally and bow down to mother or diety or whatever it is..Is the whole frame so complicated??Err,maybe my small brainy processor can’t deal with it..Sorry,but i choose to sing the song..I don’t even know the meaning of the song,and i am not interested either..
10 more minutes wasted..Pls don’t reply to my comment
You fellas are making a huge effort over here. First of all, hat’s off to that.
But about this post, I have some problems.
For how long will we put our self-interest, our religious and regional interests above the nation?
Muslims must realise more than Hindus that it is more upto them than us to convince people about their patriotism. I don’t know.. this might be a lame conviction on my part, but one reason that I will issue in support of my view is that Islam has been mainly a conquering and devastating force in India. It has ruined millions of lives. And especially the lives of the ancestors of today’s Muslims, for it is mostly under the power of the sword that they converted. (perhaps this is a misconception, you can clear it if you like.)
With this in mind, if some Hindu still sees himself the Muslim being obstinate about Islam, that has an all negative influence on the progress of India, what is he to think of him?
Just put things aside and sing the song for a minute on the national festival. Wouldn’t it help?
Btw.. it would have helped your cause had you typed exact translations of the verses you have problem with. At least I would have appreciated it, for I wish to know what is there in those verses that you disagree with.
Peace! And power to your blog!
@Mohib Ahmad:-
“If we are still thinking in terms of society and not individuals and expect everyone to submerge into some greater-common-patriotism then how different are we from let’s say China or Saudi Arabia.”
Comparing Saudi Arabia with India is not justified, for one being a theocratic country and later a democratic.
But still even in Saudi arabia the Govt. wont force the non-muslims to pray five times a day.
sshama:
And your point is?
@Mohib:- My point is, our no attempt to fault find or criticise Indian policies go free from trying to bash Muslim countries or related issues to muslims. I think we should stop this apeasement attitude towards the majority community and lets call ‘spade a spade’ without being apologetic.
sshama:
The reason I mentioned Saudi Arab in my article is because it a total anti-thesis of what India is and aspires for. Our religious extremists are trying to go that route as well. And I am against it. I am calling a spade a spade. I am also calling an axe an axe.
-To sing or not to sing is your democratic right protected under the constitution of India- but to malign the Esteemed Bankim Chattopadya(Who is the Original writer of the first two beautiful stanzas) is in bad taste…
India Constitution, Article 25, ‘Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion’:
“Subject to the public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.”
Supreme Court, 1954 SC, pp 388/392:
“Religious practices or performances of acts in pursuance of religious belief are as much a part of religion as faith or belief in particular doctrines.”
The Constitution is fairly explicit on the concept of religious freedom and the Supreme Court, too, has consistently been attempting to strengthen the country’s secular fabric. Therefore, it is a matter of great regret that some political parties have been unscrupulously generating useless controversies.
“Vande Mataram” was composed a century ago for a particular community in a particular language and under a totally different societal structure. It directly invades into the monotheistic religious ethos of Islam. So, whenever any attempt is made to elevate it to the status of National Song (not Anthem), it is opposed by Muslims.
Muslims love the country as much as Hindus or Sikhs or Christians do. However, to love one’s country is different from worshipping it. Love for the country overcomes societal and religious barriers, but the concept of bowing one’s head has a religious connotation that cannot be imposed upon those people whose religious convictions do not permit this. Muslims, therefore, should not be forced to sing Vande Mataram.
And for the record, Jan Gan Man was written for British India to eulogise the British monarch. Strangely, we hear no hue and cry on this, though!
@52 Nimmy Says: October 6th, 2008 at 7:01 am
Nimmy – please look at the flip side. Don’t such bizarre arguments convince you that you are so smart. It can be a big let down to argue with people who are so intelligent to know what makes a difference. But with such moronic arguments don’t you get convinced that with such lousy intelligence, getting ahead becomes so much easier. Sometimes I just read the blogs to feel good about myself.