Vandemataram and Indian Nationalism
Publisher: Vachanam Books, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Kerala, India
Description: The controversies on Vandemataram and connected political violence do have a long history. All the propagators of this song are aware that the undercurrent of the song is purely religious. One can discern in the atmosphere of Aurobindo’s translation that the song has been extolled as the epitome of patriotic sensibilities, by simply feigning blind to the sectarian feelings embedded in this song.The mother that the song praises is not India, but Durga, the goddess of Wisdom and Justice. Every citizen of a nation is duty bound to respect the national symbols and national songs. A real patriot would find it difficult to ignore these symbols of national passion. Yet, it is an essential requirement that all such symbols should be above controversies, suspicions, and cause of distrusts. No devotional songs and mantras of any particular religion should be elevated to the levels of national symbols. National symbols should stand far above the levels of narrow religious, sectarian, parochial claims and connections. The present study highlights the sublime characteristic of Indian democracy and its undercurrents.