TNI Bureau: BJD Rajya Sabha MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj made a strong appeal in Parliament calling for Vande Mataram to be given constitutional recognition and equal honour with the National Anthem. He said the song reflects India’s ancient belief that “The Earth is my mother, and I am her son.”
Mangaraj stated that when Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Vande Mataram, he awakened a nation, and as Mahatma Gandhi had said, the song remained inseparable from the freedom struggle.
Citing Odisha’s long history of resistance, he mentioned the Paika Bidroha of 1817, Veer Surendra Sai, and freedom fighters like Gopabandhu Das and Madhusudan Das, saying that the spirit of Vande Mataram lived in Odisha even before the song was penned.
He recalled that when Rabindranath Tagore first sang Vande Mataram at the 1896 Calcutta Congress, the entire assembly was moved to tears. He also referred to Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s 1950 statement that the song should enjoy equal honour with the National Anthem — a status it still lacks after 75 years.
Mangaraj emphasised that the song belongs to every citizen — every farmer, every soldier, every child of India. Just as Odias say “Jai Jagannath” to express civilisational identity, he said Vande Mataram is a unifying and inclusive anthem.
He urged that the song be taught with respect in schools and be restored to its rightful place as India’s spiritual anthem.