AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday objected to the Union Cabinet’s decision to give ‘Vande Mataram’ the same legal protection as the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’, saying the song cannot be treated at par with the national anthem, as it is an ode to the goddess.
He said that the nation does not run in the name of a god or goddess, and does not belong to one god or goddess.
“Jana Jana Mana celebrates India and its people, not a particular religion. Religion ≠ nation. The man who wrote Vande Mataram was sympathetic to British rule and despised Muslims. Netaji Bose, Gandhi, Nehru and Tagore all rejected him,” he said in a post on X.
Referring to India’s Constitution, he said the preamble begins with the phrase “We the People” – not “Bharat Ma”. It promises “freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.”
He said that the first clause of the Constitution, Article 1, describes “India, i.e. Bharat” as a union of states.
In the Constituent Assembly, some members wanted the preamble to begin with the name of a goddess and specifically invoked Vande Mataram. Others wanted it to start with “In the Name of God” and replace “its citizens” with “its citizens.” But Owaisi said that all these amendments were rejected.
“India, i.e. Bharat, is its people. The nation is not a god, it does not function in the name of a god or goddess, and it does not belong to one god or goddess,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP Telangana president N Ramchander Rao took issue with Owaisi’s objections to the government’s decision and said that the AIMIM leadership considers any form of cultural integration as a threat to religious exclusivity.
He said that the matter is not limited to Owaisi only, but Jinnah also followed the same path.
He said that Jinnah did not object to Vande Mataram during the first phase of his political career as a member of Congress, and his opposition did not appear until after he left Congress.
“What does this tell us? Once politics becomes dependent on religious exclusivity, every symbol of civilization is portrayed as a threat,” Rao said in a post on X.
Suggesting a pattern, the BJP leader said the AIMIM is not only opposed to Vande Mataram but also the Uniform Civil Code, abolition of triple talaq and every attempt to create a common framework.
He added, “All of this stems from a leadership mentality that sees cultural integration and national cohesion as a threat to its political importance and religious uniqueness.”
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971 to make any obstruction to the singing of the national song Vande Mataram a punishable offence.
This gives Vande Mataram the same legal protection as the national anthem Jana Gana Mana.
