who wrote the national anthem and the national song, vande mataram?
Submitted by nats on Wed, 07/29/2009 - 17:01.
who wrote the lyrics of the national anthem, jan gan man, and also those of the national song, "vande mataram" as they are today? when were the current versions of both songs launched?




Vande Mataram is the national song of India, distinct from the national anthem of India "Jana Gana Mana". The song was composed by Bankimchandra Chatterjee in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit and the first political occasion where it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.
In 2003, BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. According to BBC, people from 155 countries/island voted. Vande Mataram was second in top 10 songs
The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. The song first appeared in his book ''Anandamatha'', published in 1882 amid fears of a ban by the British Raj, though the song itself was actually written six years prior in 1876.
"Vande Mataram" was the national cry for freedom from British oppression during the freedom movement. Large rallies, fermenting initially in West Bengal, in the major metropolis of Calcutta, would work themselves up into a patriotic fever by shouting the slogan "Vande Mataram," or "Hail to the Mother(land)!". The British, fearful of the potential danger of an incited Indian populace, at one point banned the utterance of the motto in public forums and jailed many freedom fighters for disobeying the proscription. To this day, "Vande Mataram" is seen as a national mantra describing the love of patriots for the country of India.
While Vande Mataram was treated as the national anthem of India for long, ultimately Jana Gana Mana, was chosen as the national anthem of independent India. The choice was slightly controversial, since the Vande Mataram was the one song that truly depicted the pre-independence national fervour. The song was rejected on the grounds that Muslims felt offended by its depiction of the nation as "Ma Durga", a Hindu goddess; thus equating the nation with the Hindu conception of shakti, divine feminine dynamic force; and by its origin as part of ''Anandamatha'', a novel they felt had an anti-Muslim message.
Dr Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on January 24 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:
''The composition consisting of words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations as the Government may authorize as occasion arises, and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honored equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. I hope this will satisfy members.''