Mufti Abdul Quddus Rumi declared that singing of the national song would lead Muslims to hell.
The upcoming Republic Day Parade will center around the sesquicentenary of 'Vande Mataram,' featuring themed decorations, performances, and special guests.
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.
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.
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.
The Congress on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to 'rewrite history' and giving a 'political colour' to the Vande Mataram debate, and asserted that no matter how much the Bharatiya Janata Party tries, it will not be able to put a single blot on the contribution of Jawaharlal Nehru.
'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 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Islamic organisation which had issued 'fatwa' against the national song in 2006, on Monday said the edict cannot be withdrawn.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.
Lalgola Royal Estate in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, where Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay conceived his epic creation Ananda Math, is all set to get a facelift albeit via the stars and stripes.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ambrish Singh and B N Shukla, in a joint statement, also condemned the Darul Uloom for criticising the Madhya Pradesh government for making recital of 'Vande Matram' in government officials mandatory.
A controversy has erupted in Karnataka after BJP MP Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri claimed that the country's national anthem was written "to welcome the British official". This statement drew sharp criticism from Congress leader and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge.
A clash erupted between All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen and BJP councillors of the Meerut Municipal Corporation at the oath-taking ceremony on Friday, following a disagreement over the singing of Vande Mataram to begin the event.
Are politicians raking up the national song controversy just to gain political mileage?
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday night announced that the singing of Vande Mataram in schools and colleges on September 7, to mark the national song's centenary celebrations, was not compulsory.
The broader theme of the performance will be -- 'Swatantra Ka Mantra - Vande Mataram' and 'Samriddhi Ka Mantra - Viksit Bharat', officials said.
The Indian National Congress was founded by Scotsman Allan Octavian Hume on this day in 1885.
There much controversy about whether or not the song would be sung.
The RSS is aggressive on the demand for making its singing compulsory in all schools, including madrassas, while the saffron party states that the issue relates to respect for the national symbol.
Vande Mataram of Sanskrit origin, but written in Bengali, Tamil Nadu AG told the court.
The Congress has said it was a mistake to say this was the centenary of the song.
The VHP on Wednesday lashed out at Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind for adopting a resolution asking Muslims not to recite Vande Mataram, and demanded a public apology from Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for "keeping silent despite the anti-national pronouncement being made in his presence".
'We chew paan and spit it out on Mother India and then chant Vande Mataram. Throw garbage and then chant Vande Mataram... , the PM said.
The resolution of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind asking Muslims not to recite 'Vande Mataram' is "unacceptable" and will be "counter-productive", said Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
Hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party sought an apology from Home Minister P Chidambaram over the Vande Mataram issue, the Congress on Wednesday said the matter is a sensitive one involving religious sentiments and no controversy should be raked up over it.
Distancing itself from the 'fatwa' against Muslims singing 'Vande Mataram', a section of the intelligentsia on Sunday said there was a need to educate the community about the actual meaning of the lone "objectionable" word 'vande' in order to remove doubts over its rendition.
Terming Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Shafique-din Barq's walkout from the Lok Sabha when the national song was being sung as "Taliban-like conduct", the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said such leaders do not have a right to be parliamentarians or even citizens of the country.
'Ours is a diverse culture and we ought to respect each other's customs. People must not be coerced into exhibiting their patriotism in one particular way'
An editorial in the Sena publication said, "Some political leaders think singing the national song is a sin or an offence. They feel it would hurt the unity and secular fabric of the country. But Vande Mataram was an inspirational song for the freedom fighters, who laid down their lives fighting the British, with the battle cry of this song on their lips."
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of Republic Day, emphasising India's role in promoting peace, the empowerment of women, and the country's economic growth.
A Bahujan Samaj Party member on Wednesday left the Lok Sabha as the national song was being played to mark the sine die adjournment of the Budget Session of Parliament, prompting an angry rebuke from Speaker Meira Kumar.
A political slugfest broke out between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress on Monday after the latter accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting Bankim Chandra Chatterjee by calling him 'Bankim da', prompting a counter-attack from the saffron party, which accused West Bengal's ruling party of defiling the state's cultural legacy for a decade.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a Lok Sabha debate on Jawaharlal Nehru's 'mistakes' to address criticisms and focus on current issues like unemployment and inflation.
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