To address the varied narratives and questions revolving around ‘Vande Mataram’ during its 150th anniversary, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) has taken upon itself the academic responsibility of placing the historical record and the journey of the national song right from its inception.
Talking to The Tribune, Prof Himanshu Kumar Chaturvedi, Director of IIAS, said it is an endeavour by the institute to trace the historical and factual evidences about ‘Vande Mataram’ as the song is inextricably linked to the national movement.
“The Vice-President will release a coffee table book ‘Vande Mataram: A Journey’ next month at the IIAS. As books have scholarly limitations, an exhibition of 20 illustrations will also be put up to help people understand the journey of the national song,” said Chaturvedi.
Chaturvedi, a distinguished historian with specialisation in modern India and the Indian national movement, said when IIAS decides to brings an academic publication into the public domain, it is very much aware about its high credentials and reputation.
“The questions being raised about ‘Vande Mataram’ will be answered in this coffee table book. Exhaustive research has gone into putting the book together and about the composition, relevance, journey and strength of the song,” he said.
Chaturvedi, a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), says he would want people to know about ‘Vande Mataram’ in a historically authentic manner as history cannot be changed.
“Till 1920, six flags were designed and all six had Vande Mataram on them. After 1920, ‘Vande Mataram’ vanished from the flag and in 1923 came the first objection at the Kakinada session of the Congress,” he elaborates about the archives.
Prof Himanshu Kumar Chaturvedi says the book would outline the journey of ‘Vande Mataram’ from 1923 to 1937 along with the challenges it faced and the final deletion of four stanzas in 1937. “This is the journey we are carrying right from 1875 down to 1950. If anybody asks about the validity, we are there to answer,” he said.
“We are putting together the original record in Hindustan Voice of where on one side of the record has ‘Vande Mataram’ and on the other side is the national anthem. Also, how ‘Vande Mataram’ became the marching band song of the Indian National Army,” he said.
“As a historian of modern India, I feel there were two kinds of leaderships which emerged during the course of the Indian national movement. One was influenced by transitional reform movements which did not break away from the roots in the name of modernity and were not influenced by other cultures. The other set of reformers were a-cultural, who were somehow or the other influenced by modernity or Christianity,” he opined. It is this set of people who were unwilling to compromise on ‘Vande Mataram’, he asserted.
