Vande Mataram Debate: Full Version Sparks Controversy, Tagore's Stance Revealed

• Union Home Ministry mandates full six-stanza 'Vande Mataram' at government events and schools, sung before the national anthem.
• The full version, including stanzas with Hindu deity imagery, was historically excluded by Congress due to minority concerns.
• Originally written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, 'Vande Mataram' became a freedom struggle rallying cry.
• Rabindranath Tagore, who first sang it in 1896, supported the first two stanzas for inclusivity, fearing religious imagery in later stanzas could alienate minorities.
• The BJP and Congress clash over the song's history, with BJP accusing Congress of dividing the nation by truncating it, while Congress defends its 1937 decision as inclusive.