Nation not goddess: AIMIM Chief Owaisi opposes equal status for Vande Mataram, cites religious basis

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has criticised the Union Cabinet’s decision to accord ‘Vande Mataram’ the same statutory protection as the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’, arguing that the national song cannot be elevated to equal status because it is an ode to a goddess. Owaisi said India is not a nation that functions in the name of any deity and does not belong to a single religious tradition.

In a post on X on Thursday, he wrote: "Jana Gana Mana celebrates India and its people, not a particular religion. Religion (is not equal to) nation. The man who wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ was sympathetic to the British Raj and despised Muslims. Netaji Bose, Gandhi, Nehru, and Tagore all rejected it."

He also pointed out that the Constitution’s Preamble opens with “We, the People” rather than invoking any divine figure, and emphasised that the document guarantees “liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship”.

Owaisi cites Constituent Assembly debates

Owaisi referred to the debates of the Constituent Assembly, noting that some members had proposed that the Preamble begin in the name of a goddess and had invoked ‘Vande Mataram’ in their arguments. Others wanted it to start with “In the name of God” or to replace “its citizens” with “her citizens”.

“All these amendments were defeated,” he said, reiterating that “India, that is Bharat, is its people. The nation is not a goddess; it does not run in the name of a god or goddess, and it does not belong to one god or goddess.”

Telangana BJP chief pushes back

Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao rejected Owaisi’s objections and accused the AIMIM leader of treating cultural symbols as a threat to religious identity.

Rao said the party’s stance is part of a broader pattern, comparing it to Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s political shift: “Jinnah had not objected to ‘Vande Mataram’ during the early phase of his political career as a Congress member, and his opposition emerged only after he left the Congress,” he said.

He argued that political strategies built on religious exclusivism inevitably cast every civilisational symbol as a danger. “All of this stems from a leadership mindset that sees cultural integration and national cohesion as dangers to its political relevance and religious exclusivism,” he wrote.

Government approves amendment to protect ‘Vande Mataram’

The controversy comes after the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. The amendment will make obstructing the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ a punishable offence, effectively granting the national song the same legal protection as the national anthem Jana Gana Mana.

(PTI)