Vande Matram, what's the controversy about?

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and peace and blessings be upon Allah’s final messenger Muhammad

By the will of Allah, I recently had the priviledge of reading Anandmath, I call it a privilege because majority of us have never bothered to read it. For us that’s pretty normal also because we find it easy to make our opinions based on hearsay than based on true knowledge.

For the uninitiated, this is the same novel, which contains the controversial song Vande Matram. This song has been a subject of debate since pre-independence period till this day. And only Allah knows best for how long this controversy will drag on and will serve as the fodder for the so called “patriots”, who never fail to incite passions of the general public to achieve their ulterior motives. But one thing I can assure you about is that unless and until we stop ourselves from being spoon-fed by others in general and media in particular, we will continue to be exploited by evil forces to achieve their heinous goals, even at the cost of disintegrating this nation into bits and pieces.

I must tell you that people who never get tired of beating their own trumpet and calling themselves saviors of national spirit are hell bent on tearing the fabric of Hindu and Muslim brotherhood. They have got the knack of touching the most sensitive issues and playing with our sentiments. And it is none but we ourselves are to be blamed for this.

I keep saying and I repeat again that we never try to find out the truth on our own. No matter how much peace and unity of our nation in particular and humanity at large be at risk, we just love to be spoon-fed, specially by the media. The role of the media is no more to reveal the truth. Their sole purpose is to make money. It has become a conglomerate concentrated in few hands. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative for the people who feel pain and suffering for humanity to come forward and do their bid.

There is so much said and written about Vande Matram, but nobody has ever bothered to know the background of this novel which contains this “national song”. I am sure there would be people who must have read it, but for some reason, nobody has bothered or dared to speak about this venomous novel. Far from promoting national unity and national integration, this “national song” strikes at the very root of Hindu-Muslim unity. This could only be understood when one reads Anandmath.
At his juncture I would like to deviate a bit and draw the attention of the readers to Satanic verses (S.V.) by Salman Rushdie. I mention S.V. because I want to illustrate what the callous attitude of the general public can result into. And I assure you that this callousness is found throughout the globe. It’s really amazing that a writer of a book such as S.V. is being conferred with titles and honours and looked up as model for budding writers. I can assure you that even those “discerning” people who appreciated his “master piece” didn’t know what he had written. He used the filthiest language that he had at his disposal. He didn’t spare anyone. Though generally we know that he wrote blasphemous things about Islam in his novel. But you would be amazed to know that he didn’t spare Ram, worshipped as god by Hindus. He didn’t spare Margaret Thatcher, an ex-prime minister of United Kingdom. And this filth (S.V.) catapulted him into a prominent literary person. Such is the way of the modern world, which honours people for writing filth. Such is the world that we live in. We must pat our backs for accepting and honouring such people and accepting them as our role models.

Coming back to Anandmath, the theme of this novel is to oust Muslims from this country as they are considered unjust. The purpose of Santaans (sons of mother India) is to liberate their “mother”. The Santaans are Hindus, who have devoted themselves for the cause of liberating their “mother” from the hands of the Muslims. The “mother” is given the form of a goddess.

Mahendra Singh, the main character of this novel, is shown by the leader of Santaans, couple of idols, representing different condition of mother India. The first idol, which Mahendra Singh is shown is of goddess Kali. She is shown standing on the dead body of her own. This represents the present pitiable condition of the “mother”. The second idol represents the “mother” in all its glory and power with enemies under its feet. This represents the future state of the “mother”, which is the goal of Santaans. And this state of “mother” could only be achieved by annihilating Muslims. Another thing worth noting in this novel is that these so called Santaans welcome the British rule. Now my analysis of this venom spewing novel:

Since, I am not a student of history, therefore, it would not be right for me to comment whether Muslim rule during the said period was just or not. Even if it is presumed that Muslim rulers were unjust, even then nobody can have the license to burn and loot Muslims’ houses and kill them as they please with the intention to finish them without any trace as mentioned in the novel. There have been so many instances is history where the entire community had to bear the brunt, due to some crazy act of someone belonging to that particular community. This is absolutely unjust and crazy. Only the criminal should be punished rather than his/her whole family or community.

The second basis of rejecting this novel is that it welcomes the British rule. Its pity that despite Muslims fighting shoulder to shoulder with Hindus for the freedom of this country, the novel incites passion amongst Hindus to oust Muslims from this country and free their “motherland”. The language used in this novel is barbaric and incites communal passions amongst Hindus to annihilate Muslims. It can only sow the seeds of discord and animosity amongst Hindus and Muslims. This novel goes on to show the mentality of Bankim Chandra Chatterji.

One might question, how I can say something about a person of repute like Bankim Chandra Chatterji, who has been hailed as the “creative genius” of Bengali literature by none other than Rabindarnath Tagore. I say it simply on the basis of this novel because it creates hatred in the hearts of Hindus for Muslims. Secondly, as an Indian, how can it welcome British rule, when people coming from different religions and regions fought as one force to oust the Britishers? This should be absolutely unacceptable for every Indian.

We all must read this novel and try to understand why the Muslims are opposed to Vande Matram. I have a humble advice for both Hindus and Muslims with regard to this novel. Muslims should not get carried away by such stuff. They should understand that this novel is written by a mortal named Bankim Chandra Chaterji and doesn’t necessarily represent the feelings and sentiments of entire Hindu community. No matter who endorses it or rejects it, our decision should be guided by the teachings of Islam, which are for entire humanity. It is only Islam which declares unequivocally the oneness of God and entire humanity as one family. Be it regional, national or any other kind of man-made boundary, it transcends all and unite entire humanity as one family. And the only unique force that can unite us all is the worship of one true God, besides whom there is none worthy of worship.
To our Hindu brothers and sisters, I say that they too should desist from associating partners unto God. Nothing is worthy of worship save God. Many Hindus say that we don’t worship the motherland (like so many other arguments they give for worshiping so many other objects). They say that we just give respect to it, as it gives us so many things. Far from giving respect to motherland, this novel represents India as a goddess representing a particular community. How possibly can a land be given religious connotations and associated with a particular community?
I fail to understand that how can a land which we trample under our feet, day in and day out, the land on which we urinate and do all the activities can become worthy of worship? This is not how something that is worthy of worship is to be treated. The same is with idols that we worship. Just walk around and see their (idols) pitiable state. Just the other day, I was moving on a bike and saw a dog sniffing the idols that we worship. I didn’t stop to see what he did after sniffing, but we can well understand what it would or could have done. If such are gods that men worship, then I seek refuge from Satan the accursed. Pure is God what men associate with Him. To Him belong the dominions of the heavens and the earth and there is none like unto Him.

My dear brothers and sisters in humanity, the land we have raised to the status of worship, is just one of the creations of God to serve mankind. God Almighty created the heavens, the stars, the moon, the sun and so many wonderful things to serve mankind, so He created the earth. And by His Command, it produces fruits, vegetables and so many precious things. Just as by the command of God, a woman conceives, in the same way by the command of God earth conceives and produces by His will. If it was not by the command of God, why would we have some women who are barren? If it was not by the command of God, we would not have become what we are from a “fluid despised” (i.e., semen). If it was not by the command of God, we would not born or die.

But none of God’s creation is as unique as man. He is the master piece of God’s creation. God created man to worship none but Him. And that the purpose of his life. Man’s condition cannot be more pitiable than when he bows down before stones, trees and everything but his Creator and Sustainer. This is the most amazing and pitiable site (i.e., people worshipping things other than God) that I come across. Just imagine men and women pleading before lifeless and helpless idols. When you ask them, they give such explanations which fail every test of common understanding. But if you tell them simple and true things, they just simply fail to understand.
I, in all my humility, invite you to use your own faculty and be discerning, especially in things which matter most. These days, there is so much falsehood being propagated that it becomes quite difficult to know the truth. Opinions and decisions are made on such information. But there is always way for people who strive in the way truth and stand firmly against falsehood. God opens up the pathways for them. Verily, He helps those who strive in His way.