Vande Mataram Will Be Compulsory in Schools: CM Yogi

• CM Yogi Adityanath announces mandatory singing of Vande Mataram in all UP schools.
• Says the move will strengthen national unity and respect for Bharat Mata.
• Accuses Congress of calling the song “communal” and amending its verses.
• The BJP-Congress war of words reignites over the 1937 changes to the national song.

GG News Bureau
Lucknow, 10th Nov: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday announced that singing ‘Vande Mataram’ will be made compulsory in all schools and educational institutions of the state.

Speaking at an ‘Ekta Yatra’ (Unity March) in Gorakhpur, the Chief Minister said the national song should evoke pride and devotion toward the country.

“There should be a sense of respect for the national song Vande Mataram. We will make singing it compulsory in every school and educational institution of Uttar Pradesh. This is essential for everyone,” Yogi Adityanath declared.

He added that fostering patriotic sentiment is vital to maintaining the nation’s unity and integrity. “We must identify the factors that weaken national unity and integrity. We must counter them effectively so that no Jinnahs are born in the future to challenge India’s integrity,” he said.

The Chief Minister also attacked the Congress, accusing it of branding Vande Mataram as “communal” and amending its lines—actions he said contributed to the partition of India. “No religion or caste can be greater than the country. There is no point in opposing the Vande Mataram song,” Yogi asserted.

The ‘Vande Mataram’ Controversy

The political row over Vande Mataram reignited last week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress “tore apart” the national song in 1937, dropping key stanzas written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875.

“The division sowed the seeds of the nation’s partition. Today’s generation must understand why such injustice was done to this great mantra of national unity,” the Prime Minister said.

BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan also blamed former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress for “pandering to a communal agenda” by removing references to Goddess Durga. He cited letters written to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1937, which warned that the song’s “background might irritate Muslims.”

In a sharp counter, Congress accused the BJP and RSS of hypocrisy, alleging they avoid singing Vande Mataram at their own events. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the RSS prefers its prayer ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale’ instead.

The opposition also demanded an apology from the BJP, claiming the ruling party had “insulted” the 1937 Congress Working Committee and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who had supported the committee’s clarification on the song.

With Yogi Adityanath’s declaration, the century-old Vande Mataram debate has again emerged as a powerful symbol in India’s political discourse.