Indian Muslim advocate slams politicians on Vande Mataram 'theatrics': 'This isn't about Islam'

Inspired by the poem, Bande Mataram was a popular English-language nationalist newspaper started in Kolkata in 1906 by freedom fighters like Bipin Chandra Pal and edited by Sri Aurobindo. (Image credit: @ZZoariah/X)

Amid a heated parliamentary debate over Vande Mataram, following political exchanges triggered during the song’s 150th anniversary event last month, a post on X by an advocate has gone viral, slamming politicians for using a "separatist script" on citizens.

In the widely shared post, Zeeba Zoariah wrote: “I’m an Indian Muslim, and let’s settle this: Vande Mataram was sung by Muslims in 1905, banned by the British for uniting us, quoted by Maulana Azad with pride and only became ‘un-Islamic’ when Jinnah needed a communal rift to justify Pakistan in 1937. So spare me the theatrics in 2025. This isn’t about Islam. It’s about politicians recycling a 1937 separatist script because victimhood still pays.”

She also shared a picture of nationalist Sri Aurobindo’s writing in the English daily Bande Mataram, and added, “India is my homeland. I don’t need London, Lahore or Lutyens liberals to tell me what patriotism looks like.”

I’m an Indian Muslim, and let’s settle this: Vande Mataram was sung by Muslims in 1905, banned by the British for uniting us, quoted by Maulana Azad with pride and only became “un-Islamic” when Jinnah needed a communal rift to justify Pakistan in 1937. So spare me the theatrics… pic.twitter.com/DaNJGjATFy

— Zeba Zoariah (@ZZoariah) December 11, 2025

The online debate follows a stormy exchange in Parliament after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an event marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, accused the Congress of “removing important stanzas” during its 1937 Faizabad session. He said the decision “sowed the seeds of partition” and weakened the song’s original spirit, linking cultural symbols to his vision of Viksit Bharat.

The Congress rejected the charge, citing The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (Vol 66, p 46). It said the 1937 decision was based on a Congress Working Committee recommendation that included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Abul Kalam Azad, and Sarojini Naidu.

According to the party, only the first two stanzas were widely sung, while the remaining verses contained religious imagery that some citizens objected to. The move, it said, followed Rabindranath Tagore’s advice—Tagore himself had sung the song at the 1896 Congress session.

The Congress accused the Prime Minister of “attacking the legacy of the freedom movement” while ignoring issues such as unemployment and inequality.

Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay composed Vande Mataram around 1875, according to historical accounts shared by PIB and writings of Sri Aurobindo in Bande Mataram (April 16, 1907). The song gained prominence when Bankim’s novel Anandamath began serialisation in Bangadarshan in 1881.

By 1905, Vande Mataram had become a rallying cry against colonial rule—sung by Hindus and Muslims alike—before British authorities banned it for its unifying power.