Vande Mataram at 150: PM Modi launches year-long national commemoration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 7 inaugurated a year-long nationwide commemoration marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, India’s National Song — a composition that once stirred the country’s struggle for freedom and continues to symbolise unity and pride.

At a ceremony held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Modi released a commemorative stamp and coin dedicated to the milestone anniversary. He also unveiled a digital portal chronicling the song’s history and legacy.

The event witnessed mass singing of the full version of Vande Mataram across public spaces in the country, synchronized with the main programme in Delhi. Citizens from all walks of life joined in, turning the launch into a nationwide moment of collective tribute. Modi himself participated in the mass rendition at the stadium.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta were among the dignitaries present.

The commemoration — which runs from November 7, 2025, to November 7, 2026 — aims to revive public engagement with the historic song that first appeared in Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath and was published in Bangadarshan in 1875.

Written on Akshaya Navami, Vande Mataram invoked the motherland as a divine, unifying force and became a rallying cry during the freedom movement.

The Union Cabinet had earlier approved nationwide celebrations designed to reconnect citizens — especially students and young people — with the song’s revolutionary roots. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned a series of cultural programmes aligned with both the Vande Mataram anniversary and the 150th birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda.

The year-long tribute, the government says, seeks not only to honour the composition’s legacy but also to embed its message of collective strength and patriotism in future generations.