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Don't colour Vande Mataram with religion

Don't colour Vande Mataram with religion

Author: Firoz Bakht Ahmed (Educationist and grandnephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad)
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 25, 2006

While witnessing the history of Vande Mataram in a ballet celebrating India's 59th Independence Day at Modern School, Barakhamba Road, my body, mind and soul vouched in unison that this was the song of each Indian irrespective of religion, caste, colour, status or creed. The melody, the thought content and the ambience of patriotism of Vande Mataram is unmatchable.

As an Indian, I simply fail to understand why some of my co-religionists have made a religious issue out of Vande Mataram as it has a universal appeal for all Indians irrespective of their caste, creed or faith.

Firoz Bakht Ahmed (Educationist and grandnephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad)

As a Muslim, I would like to convey a message to all my countrymen and especially my own community that some politically motivated people are trying to make an emotive issue out of Vande Mataram, a gem of a song and perhaps the song that in my view should have been the national anthem in place of Jana, gana, mana...

What is of paramount importance today is that people must beware the ugly face of fundamentalism commonly constituted by the so called champions of Islam and advocates of Hindutva who having lost their say in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid controversy, want to revive that cold and hot war.

As far as Muslims are concerned, true, as per the dictates of Islam, they can never worship or bow in front of anything other than Allah. But that doesn't take away from them the fact that they are loyal to the nation and they do not need a certificate to prove their loyalty.

I simply pity the handful of rabble-rousers, who object to the singing of this very emphatic, inspiring and expressive song. Rather than indulging in hair splitting over the linguistics of the song, they should realise that the spirit is important as it conveys the message of cementing the bonds between Indians from all cross sections of society.

Muslims must follow the example of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who though born in a predominantly Hindu environment, was bold enough to propagate nationalism to Muslims at variance with the prevalent political consciousness based on communalised politics while supporting the same with Islamic sanction. Maulana saw in Vande Mataram the fusion of the endogenic creativity, the Vedantic vision of many parts of truth with the Islamic doctrines of Wahdat-e-Deen (unity of religion) and Sulah-e-Kul (universal peace).

While listening to a rendition of Vande Mataram in 1952 by a renowned maestro, Krishna Kumar, in Delhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad admired it saying that it was graceful and inspiring as great luminaries like Rabindranath Tagore, Babu Surendranath Banerjee, Satyabhushan Gupta, RN Bose, H Bose Records and others had sung it.

Muslims should not get carried away by a few lines of the song as nobody is asking them to bow down. They must learn a lesson from Maulana Azad. On the occasion of the inauguration of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Maulana Sahib's forehead was smeared with a tilak at which Dawn, a Pakistani daily commented in a cartoon that he had converted to Hinduism. Maulana replied saying that on the contrary, by such participations, his faith in his religion was strengthened. Muslims must learn from his example.

Let me humbly submit that the politically motivated individuals or the ones from the clergy should not try to make the issue controversial so that it might acquire communalist overtones. It's a charming song and must be sung on coming September 7 in India and all places where Indians live.

Muslims must not find any difference between Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamarey dil mein hai... or Saare jahan se achha Hindostan hamara...The glorious Vande Mataram belongs to Muslims as much as it belongs to any Indian. We are one and just Indians! Don't divide us into Hindus, Muslims and Christians.


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