Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Congress party “removed the soul of Vande Mataram” by excluding its devotional verses that praised Goddess Durga. Speaking during the 150th-year commemoration of the national song, Modi accused the Congress leadership of altering the essence of Vande Mataram to suit political considerations during the pre-Independence era.
The Prime Minister recalled that in 1937, during Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidency, the Congress accepted only the first two stanzas of the song while removing later verses invoking Goddess Durga. He said this move “cut away the spiritual and cultural core of the song,” which had inspired freedom fighters across India.
We mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, a song that has inspired generations to rise for the nation. Addressing a programme in Delhi. https://t.co/qQqjgmSXy5
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 7, 2025
Modi added that Vande Mataram represented not just a national sentiment but the “divine motherhood of Bharat Mata,” and that attempts to dilute its meaning were “a disservice to the country’s heritage.” The remarks come as part of the nationwide celebrations marking 150 years since Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote the song in 1875.
