The sesquicentenary of 'Vande Mataram' was the overriding theme of the ceremonial event held at the Vijay Chowk and presided over by President Droupadi Murmu, who arrived at the venue in a traditional buggy to the sound of bugles, adding a ceremonial grace to the occasion.
The Congress party has strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks regarding the dropping of stanzas from 'Vande Mataram' in 1937, calling his statements shameful and demanding an apology. The party argues that Rabindranath Tagore himself suggested adopting the first two stanzas of the song.
'It took 22 working days for us to complete the song.'
BJP MLA Sumitro Chatterjee, a descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, has demanded an unconditional apology from Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. This demand follows an alleged incident at the AICC headquarters on Independence Day, where Chatterjee claims there were attempts to prevent the full singing of "Vande Mataram," which he described as a "shameless repetition of a historical mistake."
The Congress party has intensified its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the Vande Mataram controversy, alleging that he has insulted the Congress Working Committee of 1937 and Rabindranath Tagore. The party demands Modi address current issues instead of historical debates.
Parliament is set to debate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and election reforms, with key discussions led by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has stated that he did not authorize the celebration of the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' in schools, emphasizing the need for autonomy in governing the Union Territory and rejecting outside interference.
Tilak added that the atmosphere in the stadium fuelled him to excel in a high stakes contest.
In what was a goose bump-inducing moment, Kohli was seen encouraging the crowds to join in, who happily obliged, culminating into a magical collab.
Emphasising that both the national song and the national anthem have their own sanctity and deserve equal respect, the Centre stated that the subject matter of the present proceedings can never be a subject matter of a writ petition.
The Tamil film has a good plot, but loses out on a logical screenplay.
Bharatiya Janata Party government in Chhattisgarh has made mandatory singing of the song in all educational institutions of the state, including madrasas.
A group of Muslim councillors left the Meerut Municipal Corporation House as soon as other members started singing Vande Mataram, following which a proposal to terminate their membership was passed.
Ulema of Bareilly sect on Thursday endorsed the fatwa issued by Deoband clerics against reciting of national song Vande Mataram.
The Commissioner of Public Instructions has issued a circular making the mandatory singing of the first two stanzas of the national song at 11 am on September seven.
Party leaders Arun Jaitely, M Vankaiah Naidu, Sanjay Joshi and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be part of a special committee on the BJP's Vande Mataram campaign, a party source said.
A ruckus followed as BJP MLAs took a strong exception to the statement.
Board chairman Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar has sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, copy of which had also been forwarded to the President, to arrange a correct 'tarjuma' (translation) of Vande Mataram at the earliest. He said efforts should be made to clear the controversy over the song once and for all.
Uttar Pradesh assembly Speaker Satish Mahana has found himself at the centre of a controversy after he was seen walking away while the national anthem was played at an event in Unnao, drawing flak from the opposition. Mahana, however, claimed that the anthem was not played where he was given the guard of honour.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday condemned the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind's opposition to the recitation of Vande Mataram by Muslims and said the presence of Home Minister P Chidambaram in its general assembly had legitimised the resolution. "We begin our programmes by singing Vande Mataram. But the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind function started with a protest against the national song," said BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said no resolution was passed on Vande Mataram recital when he was present at the Jamiat Conference at Deoband on Tuesday.
A top Muslim body on Tuesday asked members of the community not to recite Vande Mataram and supported seminary Darul Uloom's edict that opposes any prayer involving the song. "The fatwa of Darul Uloom (opposing the recitation of Vande Mataram) is correct," stated one of the 25 resolutions passed by the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind on Tuesday, at its 30th general session in Deoband, in the presence of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Darul Uloom' had issued the edict in 2006.
Vande Mataram was never announced as national song: Scholar
The Varanasi mayor has issued orders making it mandatory for every municipal corporation member to sing 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jana Gana Mana' after a Bharatiya Janata Party corporator's proposal for singing the songs triggered protests by Congress and Samajwadi Party members.
Mufti Abdul Quddus Rumi declared that singing of the national song would lead Muslims to hell.
Prominent maulanas and Islamic scholars of Uttar Pradesh have reacted strongly to Delhi Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari's diktat to Muslims to keep off Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign because his supporters were chanting 'vande mataram'.
"If somebody sings Vande Mataram voluntarily, I have no objections. But if people are forced to do so, it will meet with resistance," Bukhari said.
Singing of the national song in the Mantralaya or secretariat on the first working day of every month has been the norm since the time of erstwhile Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of the BJP.
Over 100 artistes and academicians belonging to Muslim community launched a scathing attack on Wednesday, on Jamiat-Ulema-e Hind resolution on 'Vande Mataram' saying the move would only "unnecessarily provoke" a controversy and strengthen Hindutva forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon citizens to celebrate Independence Day with honour and pride, urging them to take a pledge for a developed India. This appeal comes amidst parliamentary sessions marked by protests from both ruling and opposition alliances.
'If Muslims are opposed to the singing of Vande Matram, they should show their opposition in strictly secular and democratic terms,' says Professor Imtiaz Ahmad.
The precedence given to 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jana Gana Mana' over the 'Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu' has triggered a controversy in Tamil Nadu, with political parties condemning the decision to relegate the Tamil invocation to third place at the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Joseph C Vijay.
The opposition has demanded that Arjun Singh apologise.
'At the far end we have the likes of Maulana Mahmood Madani with their separatist agenda, but that does not mean every Muslim is persuaded by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind's bunkum.'
Days after a top Muslim body passed a resolution asking the community members not to recite 'Vande Mataram', a prominent Islamic organisation which had issued 'fatwa' against the national song in 2006, on Monday said the edict cannot be withdrawn.
Defying the fatwa issued by the Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind against the rendition of Vande Mataram, a group of Muslims, led by a clergyman, joined people from other communities in singing the national song in front of a mosque in Betul. A large number of people from a cross-section of the society collected in front of the Jama Masjid at Betul Bazar at the invitation of its Imam Hafiz Abdul Razique and recited the song on Sunday.
