The Government of India is marking the 150th anniversary of the India’s national song Vande Mataram with a year-long series of commemorative events honouring its historical, cultural and patriotic significance. The nationwide celebrations were formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 November 2025 and will continue until 7 November 2026, featuring mass singing, cultural and photo exhibitions, release of a commemorative stamp and coin, and special programmes to foster unity and national pride.
As India commemorates 150 years of Vande Mataram, we reflect on a composition that transcends poetry to become a living symbol of national awakening. Written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in Anand Math and composed on 7 November 1875, the song emerged from a literary context into the spiritual and political voice of the freedom movement. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, one of the foremost literary figures of nineteenth-century India and a pioneer of the modern Indian novel, combined literary excellence with a profound nationalist vision, using his writings to awaken cultural pride, moral strength and national consciousness under colonial rule.
Its first public rendering by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, national poet and Nobel laureate, at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress—the principal national organisation that mobilised Indians across regions and communities for a peaceful, political struggle against British rule—established Vande Mataram as an anthem of resistance. During the Swadeshi movement, India’s fight against colonial economic exploitation emphasized using indigenous goods and rejecting foreign products, and later revolutionary phases, the song became a powerful rallying cry that united diverse sections of society in the shared pursuit of freedom. An explanation of the verses is presented below.
“Vande Mataram”
Sujalām suphalām malayaja-śītalām,
Śāsya-śyāmalām Mātaram!
Vande Mataram!
The meaning of opening invocation verse “Vande Mataram is “I bow to thee, O Mother,” offers a profound salutation to Mother India in Sanskrit and Bengali languages. In the first verse, the Motherland is portrayed as a nurturing and life-giving presence — rich in waters and harvests, cooled by fragrant breezes and clothed in fertile fields — elevating the land from mere geography to a sacred embodiment of nourishment and serenity.
Śubhra-jyotsnām pulakita-yāminīm,
Phulla-kusumita druma-dala-śobhinīm,
Suhāsinīm sumadhura bhāṣinīm,
Sukhādām varadām Mātaram!
Vande Mataram!
In the second verse, she is adorned with beauty and grace, radiant under moonlight and embellished with blossoms and foliage. Smiling gently and bestowing happiness and blessings, the Mother emerges as a compassionate presence whose beauty inspires affection and spiritual attachment.
Koṭi-koṭi kaṇṭha kalakala nināda karāle,
Koṭi-koṭi bhujair dhṛta kharakaravāle,
Ke bole Mā tumi abale!
Bahubaladhāriṇīm namāmi tāriṇīm,
Ripudala-vāriṇīm Mātaram!
Vande Mataram!
The third verse presents a vision of strength and protection, as the Mother resounds with countless voices and countless arms, symbolising the collective power of her people. No longer only a nurturing figure, she stands as a vigilant guardian, embodying courage, resilience and invincible will.
Tumi vidyā, tumi dharma,
Tumi hṛdi, tumi marma,
Tvam hi prāṇaḥ śarīre!
Bāhute tumi Mā śakti,
Hṛdaye tumi Mā bhakti,
Tomārai pratima gaḍi mandire-mandire.
Vande Mataram!
In the fourth verse, the nation is exalted as the source of knowledge, righteousness and inner life, dwelling in the heart, soul and conscience of her children, and enshrined as a sacred presence in every temple.
Tvam hi Durgā daśa-praharaṇa-dhāriṇī,
Kamalā kamala-dala-vihāriṇī,
Vāṇī vidyā-dāyinī,
Namāmi tvām namāmi kamalām,
Amalām atulām,
Sujalām suphalām Mātaram!
Vande Mataram!
The fifth verse reveals her divine forms as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, uniting power, prosperity and wisdom in the vision of the Divine Mother — pure, radiant and bountiful.
Śyāmalām saralām susmitām bhūṣitām,
Dharaṇīm bharaṇīm Mātaram!
Vande Mataram!
In the final verse, she appears as the gentle and sustaining Earth, the bearer and nourisher of all life, whose quiet beauty and enduring care affirm that reverence for the nation is inseparable from gratitude to the living land itself.
Recognising its unparalleled role in shaping national sentiment, free India formally accorded it a place of honour. On 24 January 1950, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad declared that, in view of its historic contribution to the freedom struggle, it would enjoy the same status as the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana. Over the decades, the song has retained a special place in official ceremonies, educational institutions and public life, symbolising continuity between India’s civilizational heritage and its modern nationhood.
Today, as the country commemorates this historic milestone, Vande Mataram continues to inspire unity, service and patriotic duty. Through national initiatives and dedicated portals — www.vandemataram150.in and www.vandemataram.in — citizens in India and abroad are invited to participate in mass singing, exhibitions, digital outreach and creative engagements. In celebrating 150 years of this immortal composition, India honours not merely a song, but the enduring ideals of courage, harmony, sacrifice and national dignity that continue to guide its journey forward.
Vande Mataram at 150: A Song that Awakened a Nation
