Arise Bharat

By: A. RAMAKRISHNA PRASAD

This day (7^th November 2025) marks the 150^th year of writing of the immortal song Vande Mataram by Bankim Chatterjee, which awakened the national consciousness of Bharat and Tamilnadu is no exception.  Though the song was composed in 1875, it was rendered in a melodious tune by the National Poet Ravindranath Tagore in the Congress session of 1896.  

Bharathiyar and “Vande Mataram”.

Tamilnadu can take pride that by 1907, Vande Mataram had been already translated into Tamil (two versions) by none other than Subramania Bharathi, the most popular poet of modern Tamil literary movement and the face of modern poetry.  He saw it as an emblem of India’s struggle for independence and national unity.  Commenting on Vande Mataram he said, “This is the light of life. I worship Hindustan. I respect Hinduism. I will sacrifice myself for the good of the world, forgetting myself. This is the Jeeva Shakthi of slogan of peace.”

In the introductory note to his Swadesha Geetangal, he wrote: “These flowers are dedicated to Bharata Mata, the symbol of unity and eternal youth.” In a preface to Janma Bhoomi which appeared in 1909, he said: “The light of liberty is dear to me, I therefore offered a few flowers to the Mother. Her devotees liked them; the Mother received them. That has emboldened me to offer more flowers to the Mother.”

Bharathiyar composed his own powerful poem with the refrain “Vande Mataram” to inspire patriotism and unity among Indians. This poem urged the people to set aside caste and creed differences to unite as children of Mother India and fight for freedom. As a prominent journalist, editor, and publisher of magazines like India and Vijaya, he used these platforms to propagate nationalist ideas. The magazine Vijaya even featured an illustration of “Mother India” with the rallying cry “Vande Mataram” on its cover. His articles and essays in these publications consistently advocated for an independent and united India, with “Vande Mataram” often serving as a central theme or explicit reference.

His use of simple, powerful language in his poems and articles ensured that the message of “Vande Mataram” reached a wide audience, galvanizing people to join the freedom struggle. The British government, recognizing the revolutionary potential of such content, banned many of his works and the use of the slogan itself and issued an arrest warrant for him, leading him to live in exile in French-controlled Pondicherry for a decade. 

In essence, Bharati’s articles and poems didn’t just mention “Vande Mataram”; they embodied its spirit and transformed it into a widespread, potent symbol of national awakening. 

Tamilnadu people surrounded the British personnel in the streets in 1908 and compelled them to say Vande Mataram.

In 1908, Tamil Nadu saw the eruption of workers strike in Coral Mill in the port city of Tuticorin. It was one of the earliest organised mass movements of Indian workers against the British economic exploitation of India. Reports filed by journalists as well as the CID department highlight the role of Vande Mataram in the agitation. The striking workers, numbering about thousand, marched in the streets shouting ‘Vande Mataram’ reports Times of India (7.3.1908). Chirkin, who was an official at the Russian office in India, had sent some reports to Czar Government covering the strikes. They also reported the reciting of Vande Mataram. People surrounded the British personnel in the streets and compelled them to say Vande Mataram says the report. This happened not in North India, but southern Tamil Nadu Even South Indian students were stirred by Vande Mataram. The Hindu dated 5.3.1908 reported that a police officer was suspended for 10 days because he failed to stop the students from shouting Vande Mataram at a police station. 

A barber from Tamilnadu named his two children Vande and Mataram:

A barber by name Rangan was so inspired by V.O.Chidambaram Pillai that he named his children with the name ‘Vande’ (his son) and ‘Mataram’ (his daughter) and whoever came to his house he used to introduce his children and made the visitors to call his children’s name so that they utter the word ‘Vande Mataram’.

This barber also refused to shave a British-leaning Indian advocate, Rangaswamy Iyengar.  The advocate, Rangaswamy Iyengar, was known for his pro-British stance, particularly his support for a British collector’s order to bring in a military battalion to suppress the local Swadeshi agitation led by V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramanya Siva. 

When Rangaswamy Iyengar sat for a shave, the barber confronted him about his support for the British actions. Upon receiving an indifferent response from the advocate, the barber promptly refused to perform his service, stating that it was not his business to touch the head of a person who supported the oppressive British measures. Even other barbers of the area refused to shave his half-shaven face.  This act of defiance was a form of protest against British colonial rule and those who collaborated with it, highlighting the widespread support for the independence movement even among common people.  

The ship of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, started by V.O.Chidambaram Pillai bore a flag with the slogan “Vande Mataram”

VOC and other leaders like Subramania Siva and the poet Subramania Bharati used “Vande Mataram” extensively in their meetings and campaigns.  Impelled by the spirit of Vande Mataram, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai launched the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company at Tuticorin. This ship even bore a flag with the slogan “Vande Mataram”.

VOC came to be known as Vande Mataram Pillai, because he was the pioneer in propagating the life-giving mantra among the people in the remote South. The arrest of VOC on sedition charges in 1908 for his nationalist activities, which included promoting the “Vande Mataram” slogan, led to widespread protests and a spontaneous uprising in the Tirunelveli region, sometimes referred to as the “Vande Mataram Movement”. 

In essence, the two terms are linked through VOC’s fervent adoption and promotion of the “Vande Mataram” spirit and slogan as a core element of the Swadeshi independence movement in South India. 

Tiruppur Kumaran was uttering “Vande Mataram” as he fell and died from injuries sustained during a police assault:

During a protest march against the British colonial government in Tiruppur on January 11, 1932, Kumaran was carrying the Indian national flag, which had been banned at the time. British police brutally lathi-charged the protestors. Despite being severely injured, including a fatal blow to the head, he refused to drop the flag and continued to hold it high. He was found dead on the street still clutching the flag, earning him the revered epithet “Kodi Kaatha Kumaran” in Tamil, which means “the Kumaran who protected the flag”.   He was uttering “Vande Mataram” as he fell and died from injuries sustained during a police assault.

Vande Mataram inspired even the Indian soldiers of the British army stationed in Tamilnadu:

Vande Mataram inspired even the Indian soldiers of the British army stationed in Tamilnadu. Twenty-four daring young men belonging to the Fourth Madras Coastal Defence Battery were tried on charges of attempting to create mutiny and sentenced to death. They were hanged in Madras gaol and they all died with Vande Mataram on their lips.

Vanchinathan who shot Collector Ashe uttered Vande Mataram before he fell down:

Along with other early revolutionaries from Tamil Nadu like V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva, Neelakanta Brahmachari was an early recruit to the revolutionary movement which was greatly inspired by the message and spirit of “Vande Mataram”.  

The patriotic fervor associated with “Vande Mataram” fueled his commitment to the freedom struggle. He formed the secret society ‘Bharatha Matha Sangam’ (Mother India Society) in 1910 to organize like-minded youth against British rule, an endeavor intrinsically linked to the worship and liberation of the motherland (Bharat Mata) as personified in the song.  There were more than 20000 members in the Bharatha Matha Sangam.

The members of his association, including Vanchinathan Iyer, were involved in the assassination of British District Collector Robert Ashe in 1911. Ashe was shot down at Maniyachi junction and Vanchinathan shot himself also, shouting Vande Mataram. During their trials and even at the time of their deaths, revolutionaries involved in such movements were known to have “Vande Mataram” on their lips, signifying the song’s deep impact on their dedication to the cause.