RSS’ Bhaiyyaji Joshi kicks off anthem row

A controversy erupted after a top RSS leader was quoted as saying that ‘Vande Mataram’ was the real national anthem and not the ‘Jana Gana Mana.’ However, later, RSS said that general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi had not asked for any change in the national flag or anthem, said a PTI report.

“Jana Gana Mana is our national anthem today. It has to be respected. There is no reason why it should evoke any other sentiment. But, it is the national anthem as decided by the Constitution. If one considers the true meaning, then Vande Mataram is the national anthem,” Mr Joshi was quoted as saying by PTI.

Mr Joshi was speaking at the Deendayal Upadhyay Research Institute on Friday. “We consider things created due to the Constitution to be national. The sentiments in Jana Gana Mana have been expressed keeping the states in mind,” he added.

“However, the sentiments in Vande Mataram denote the nation’s character and style. This is the difference between the two songs. Both deserve respect,” PTI quoted Mr Joshi.

However, on Saturday, the RSS has made it clear that Mr Joshi never sought a change in the national anthem. “Bhayyaji was deliberating on the difference between Rajya (state power) and Rashtra (nation). Nowhere did he ask for any change in the national flag or anthem,” said RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya in New Delhi.

He said Mr Joshi had said “the saffron flag has been revered by the people of ‘Bharat’ since time immemorial as a symbol of our ancient culture. We revere both the ‘Tiranga’, which is our ‘State flag’, and the saffron flag, which is the symbol of our ancient culture.”

“Similarly, while the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ described the idea of ‘Rajya’, ‘Vande Mataram’ denotes our cultural identity and our devotion to it. All of us should equally respect and adore both the national anthem and the national song,” he was quoted as saying.

‘Vande Mataram,’ (which means ‘I praise the Mother’) is a poem by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. A hymn to the ‘Mother Land,’ it played a vital role in the Indian independence movement.

In 1950, the song’s first two verses were given the official status of the ‘national song,’ distinct from the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.