Vande Mataram: The 1937 Verse Debate & Modi's "Song Partition" Claim

• PM Modi alleged that the 1937 removal of Vande Mataram verses was a "partition of the song" that sowed seeds for the country's partition.
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed the first two verses of Vande Mataram in 1875, later adding more in his 1882 novel Anand Math.
• While the initial two verses were secular, later additions depicted Hindu deities, causing some Muslims to view them as anti-Islamic.
• The Indian National Congress, supported by Tagore and Gandhi, adopted only the first two secular verses in 1937 to foster national unity.
• The two-stanza version of Vande Mataram was officially recognized as India's national song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.

Why It Matters: It reveals how Vande Mataram's history shaped India's national identity and unity.