Amit Shah’s Vande Mataram Bill seeks to enforce, by statute, the song’s equal status with the National Anthem. That status has stood on an unfinished compromise for 76 years.
Idolatry is anti-science, was the private belief of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, who wrote the song whose idolatry became one of the most divisive issues during India’s national movement.
Vande Mataram vs Jana Gana Mana: As Bengal polls approach, BJP walks tightrope between Bankim’s song & Tagore’s legacy. 5 yrs after invoking Amar Sonar Bangla to woo Bengal, BJP on the defensive.
Sri Aurobindo had said Bankim’s life was a parcel of the 'most splendid epoch in Bengali history.' Anandamath was written to make India more formidable.
Repeated changes in cotton import duty have prioritised textile competitiveness when mills face high input costs. But policy can also put pressure on farmgate prices.
True pluralism requires mutual accommodation, not perpetual surrender by the majority. The compromise on Vande Mataram was already made in 1937 when only the land-praising stanzas were retained.
A truly pluralistic society cannot be a one-way street where only one community’s sensitivities dictate national symbols, while the sacred cultural sentiments of the majority are expected to yield permanently.
Calling Vande Mataram’s history “contested” dilutes its foundational role in liberating the country. Extending legal protection against deliberate disrespect is not ‘coerced patriotism…it is the baseline civic standard required to protect national dignity and honour the civilizational values of Bharat
True pluralism requires mutual accommodation, not perpetual surrender by the majority. The compromise on Vande Mataram was already made in 1937 when only the land-praising stanzas were retained.
A truly pluralistic society cannot be a one-way street where only one community’s sensitivities dictate national symbols, while the sacred cultural sentiments of the majority are expected to yield permanently.
Calling Vande Mataram’s history “contested” dilutes its foundational role in liberating the country. Extending legal protection against deliberate disrespect is not ‘coerced patriotism…it is the baseline civic standard required to protect national dignity and honour the civilizational values of Bharat