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The debate around Vande Mataram is an occasion to comment on the literary elements of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's 'Anandamath' as well as his definition of nationalism.
The notion that Vande Mataram should be sung by any
person since it is a national song will have little followers among those with
racist minds. Citizens of any free country are certainly well within their
rights to fail to meet these demands.
There was a time when the tricolor logo would appear on
the cinema screen during each film display, and the national anthem would
resonate through the theatre. Today, Jana Gana mana has no religious roots, but
there was no possibility of a Hindu-Muslim flare-up about it. And then, many
viewers would get up to leave knowing well that the gates would not be opened
until the seventh and last invocation of Jaya Hey had been made.
The activity was finally discontinued in the cinemas,
perhaps the most popular mass communication locations. (Courtesy of an order
from the Supreme Court, although slightly revamped, the national anthem has
been taken back to the cinemas and again put on viewers.)
While being mindful of the double indignity that the
tricolor and the national anthem have been exposed to, if the new dispensation
is doing its hardest to force the national song on the people, the explanation
is obvious. Parts of the national song are full of Hindu symbols and can be
used to taunt Muslims and satisfy Hindus, if not the whole population.
The Hindu Voting Bank draws the Bharatiya Janata Party (
BJP) – which has voting support – and the Congress equally; both parties are
engaged in a life-and-death fight over it. The intellectual community, which
understands the motive behind the attempt to raise the issue of the national
song, has criticized it extensively, especially on the lines that singing or
not singing the national song can not be a benchmark of patriotism.
But is 'Vande Mataram' really a 'false' song? What kind
of novel is that of Anandamath? Moreover, is extreme nationalism the same thing
as liberalism? Often, the heat created by the flare-up of the conflict spreads
to a more abundant and fruitful discussion. It would have been helpful if
academics had taken this opportunity to comment on the literary elements of
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay 's work and his concept of nationalism.
The whole fate is often suffered by novels that are
serialized in magazines; otherwise works based on an insular perspective can
also be excellent. These examples are numerous in literature. For example, Ezra
Pound, an avowed supporter of fascism, is considered a great poet. About
Nietzsche, Vijaydevnarayan Sahi once wrote, "From social reality, Spake
Zarathustra should be burned, but from a literary point of view, it is one of
the great works."
I read Anandamath with an open mind as with 'Vande
Mataram,' but it appeared as an impressive work not only from an ideological
point of view but also as artwork. Sure, at the time the book was completed,
the novel as a genre was not well-formed in our sections, but signs of
greatness are manifesting in one direction or another. Unfortunately, those
signs are not to be found in Chattopadhyay's most famous works.
The same can not be said regarding the separately written
'Vande Mataram' which should be read as such. Imposing it as the national song
doesn't make sense either.
Although, in our country, the ritualistic elements of
nationalism are becoming increasingly seen as synonymous with patriotism. The distinction
between the two is immense. A citizen must undoubtedly have confidence in his
or her country, but trust can not be measured solely in terms of national
symbols.
We seem to forget that ultra-nationalism takes on a form
of fascism at one level. It is not without justification that the Swayamsevak
Sangh in Rashtriya has the same confidence in this philosophy as did Hitler or
Mussolini. It is in the background of this theory that the controversy around
singing or not singing 'Vande Mataram' continues to emerge.
'Vande Mataram' is not the only issue; there are several
more that can lead to similar controversies. The question is-does these symbols
really require a pluralistic nation like India? No national symbol can ever be
more important than its people. In the first place, it is the people themselves
who establish such symbols. So, how can there be only one religious or even
non-religious, icon for such a pluralistic country as India?
An analysis of Tagore, our national poet, and master
novelist Premchand 's thoughts on this topic will provide beneficial pointers.
Tagore believed that humanity's goal was well above that of patriotism;
Premchand likened nationalism to a disease (leprosy).
Usually having both a national anthem and a national song
would make little sense for a country. That is a unique situation for our
country. Thankfully the list of nationalistic symbols did not apply to other
types of art. The mind boggles to think of a scenario where it was appropriate
to initiate a process of making a national novel, play, paint, film, dance
form, and sport.
As Hindi Diwas (September 14) approaches, one can expect
the usual slogans to be accompanied by the general debate on the national
language. Hindi is a gentle tongue that is pleasing to the ears. Being the most
widely spoken, it can quickly become a language of contact. Ironically,
although Hindi has been given the status of an official language, it has not
even succeeded in becoming a governor's language.
Well, the most important lesson to take from the
controversy over 'Vande Mataram' is that these matters should be left
available, not corralled, in a free society. This will help not only to
preserve our integrity but also to many other aspects of our life, that happen
to be legitimate symbols of our national identity. The sooner, the
ultra-nationalistic prodigals return from their Western spot to the East, the
better.
Edited by - Chhavi Gupta
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