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Is this how a democracy is supposed to work? I think our people have got the formula wrong. It is a dictatorship if I have to be patriotic to live in India. In a democracy I should be permitted be as un-patriotic as I like and to even hate the country that I live in. (By hate here I mean it on an intellectual level and not the typical Islamic-terrorism kind.)
I have always hated anything being made mandatory. As a human, I deserve choices and to choose anything that I wish to do. I hated attending the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations at school and would have preferred to stay home enjoying a quiet holiday. This doesn’t mean that I’m not patriotic, otherwise I wouldn’t have started a blog on India and keep writing so enthusiastically about her.
Anything made mandatory loses its charm. The same goes for Vande Mataram.
It’ll be fantastic to celebrate the national song’s centenary in a number of different ways. Instead, the Congress govt. chose to impose the song on gullible school children – nothing wrong even here, but the students cannot choose and that, I think, is not right. Now it has snowballed into a religious-political issue.
The Muslims have said it is anti-Islamic to sing the song because it personifies and deifies the land of India. So as to accommodate their wishes, only the first two stanzas of the song were taken up as the National song by the Indian National Congress. But they now won’t sing even that part because the rest of the song still deifies Bharat Mata. This sounds utterly stupid. If by thanking your motherland for all the food and shelter it provides you are going against your religion, the former still sounds superior for it provides basic sustenance. Therefore, I disagree that singing this song could be un-Islamic.
However, a valid point is that Bankim Chattopadhyaya, who wrote the song, also authored some anti-Muslim statements. Therefore, I can understand if the Muslims are perturbed at having to declare their patriotism by respecting a man who hated them.
At any rate, the BJP is only being utterly stupid and childish when it says that not reciting Vande Mataram is synonymous with not being patriotic. Patriotism is a feeling that any man can or cannot have and choose either to or not to display openly. It is cheap if somebody wants me to display my allegiance to a state to remain its citizen. Here, I also go against the recent introduction of a British citizenship requirement whereby you are required to owe allegiance to the Queen – to me this appears to be a remnant of the colonial mindset.
Lastly, I love the song Vande Mataram and will proudly sing it on September 7th, its centenary.
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True!!!
There is no harm in singing this song which praises our motherland. If anyone has any objections against praising our motherland and cannot recite the song, they should leave this country first…
PSoni says:Vandemataram should not be required to sing. Its core meaning revolves around hindu Goddess “durga”, therefore we cannot expect people opposite religioun to sing. It was written by Chatterji, a Bengoli poet in onw of his book. People took that song and sung it to encourage British to leave India, and was adopted to build unity among Indians. It was surely treated as a national anthem. But after 1947 there was a debate among poet whether it really whould be a national anthem. Rabinranath Tagore made a really good point saying that since “vandemataram” song’s core revolves around “ma durga” we cannot expect muslamans to sing it. In our paliament we3 need a song of unity not religious diffrence, and this is how “jan man gana” was actually adopted as India’s national anthem. Therefore I strongly believe that vandemataram should not be required to be sung by children at schools.
islam says:Well I do not really see any thing that is wrong with this song. It is a gratitude that we are giving to the soil (soil=source, origin same as in mother)from which we were created. If this soil was not there there would not have been Muslims or Hindus. Our imams that raise the Fatwas should know that Islam is a religion on Peace and we believe that all living things have a right to live.
Can any Imam come out with a Fatwa against the terrorists that blow them selves, killing innocent lives just so that they can go into the arms of 72 virgins? Will the virgins want to be with such persons ? Wake up Islam is a religion of peace and not SEX.
. I think now the Imams have got too carried away and we need liberals. Islam cannot become a religion of killers.
islampusing@yahoo.com
RK says:Vande matharam is a song praising the Nature and beauty of our land. Who said it was in praise of Durga? India is a country with great heritage and we were hospitable enough to the Mogul invaders for islam to take root here. If we profess democracy and secularism it is not a right to show disrespect to Nation or National Anthem and Songs. Why are they hurt by singing a National song/anthem/Why they are afraid to give freedom of thought and expression ? What they are afraid of? Are their religiuon so fragile that if they sing Vande Matharam their religious faith in Allah will fade/vanish?Ridiculous. recently I studied a report that in UAE/Saudi/Bahrain etc.. many old Mosques have been demolished to give room for larger constructions. In India they make a big issue of babri Masjid where Hindus believe their Rama was born. Hinduism is millions of years old as proved by research and archeological surveys and satellite pictures. Satya Yuga existed in India. Islam is only 1400 years old. It can exist only if it is more tolerant as Hinduism.If they show disrespect to other faiths and National goals like Family Planning etc.. telling the Name of religion it is rather against the National Interest. It is advised such haters of Indian ways and means shall quit and go to their Islamic countries, and settle down there. They cannot expect Hindu Majority to appease them always that too on baseless doctrines and blind faiths and beliefs. They should open up and be more pragmatic and tolerant.
sandipan says:where and in which book of Rishi Bankim Chandra did u find anti muslim or anti islam statements? No where did he make any such comments. I think u should check your facts before stating it in ur blog.
Do not state a wrong fact please.
Where and in which book of Rishi Bankim Chandra did u find anti Muslim or anti Islam statements? No where did he make any such comments. I think u should check your facts before stating it in ur blog. Do put in a reply to my email address if u think i am wrong.
pooja says:This National song (Vande M******) completely profane the concept of God not only in Islam but if Hindu people think out of the box & study their “spiritual guidance” thoroughly with a deep & logical understandings of Holy scriptures in Hinduism including (Vedas), than certainly without doubt their souls will regard these lyrics of song as blasphemy.
After all people only believe in One GOD (The Gracious).
Peace
Aham: I am – Hinduism
September 7th is not the centenary of this song by any standards. At best Congress adopted it on this day, this too no one is sure.
Read on more at:
http://apunkadesh.blogspot.com