Patriotism Beyond Anthems and Songs

Ashok Ogra

ashokogra@gmail.com

National songs and anthems are meant to bring people together. Yet in many countries they have also led to arguments-over which anthem or song should be sung, which language should be used, which verses should be included, and whether an old anthem represents a past that a country would rather leave behind.

India's recurring debate over how many stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung is therefore neither unique nor unusual. The Congress has generally supported the singing of the first two stanzas, while the BJP has argued for singing the song in full. Such matters often evolve over time through public acceptance, convention and tradition. In India, however, the issue has also become part of political debate.

South Africa faced a much more difficult question after apartheid ended in the early 1990s. Its experience is an example of how a country dealt with two songs carrying very different historical associations.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika had become closely associated with the struggle against apartheid. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika had been the national anthem during the apartheid period and continued to be important to many white South Africans.

Nelson Mandela was conscious that choosing one and rejecting the other could leave a section of the population feeling excluded. Reconciliation was an important part of the political transition. For a period, both songs had official status. Later, parts of the two musical traditions were brought together. South Africa's present national anthem draws from both and is sung in five languages.

It was an attempt to accommodate different histories within a common national framework.

In our case, the story of Vande Mataram goes back to the period before Independence. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote it in 1875. He first wrote an English version, "Mother, I Salute Thee," and later recast it in Sanskritised Bengali. The song was included in his novel Anandamath in 1881. For Bankim, the motherland was more than geographical territory. It represented belonging, devotion and sacrifice.

The song became controversial in the 1930s when some Congress-led provincial governments introduced it in schools. The Muslim League objected, particularly to compulsory singing and to the Hindu religious imagery in the later verses, including references to Durga.

After Independence, Vande Mataram continued to have a special place because of its association with the freedom movement. During the Constituent Assembly session of August 14-15, 1947, Jana Gana Mana and the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung, along with Saare Jahan Se Achha.

There was, therefore, room for different patriotic songs, each with its own history and place in public life. Respect for one did not necessarily mean rejection of another.

Iqbal's Saare Jahan Se Achha has no official status as either the national anthem or the national song. Yet generations of Indians have sung it in schools and heard it played by military bands.

Rakesh Sharma's well-known reply from space in 1984-"Saare Jahan Se Achha"-is another indication of how familiar the song had become in Indian public life.

The relationship between national anthems and political identity can be more complicated elsewhere. Hong Kong is one example. China's March of the Volunteers is also Hong Kong's official anthem. During some politically sensitive football matches involving Hong Kong and China, sections of Hong Kong supporters have booed the anthem.

This has produced an unusual situation in which two teams connected to the same sovereign state hear the same anthem, while some supporters use the occasion to express a different political identity or disagreement.

New Zealand follows another model. It has two national anthems: God Defend New Zealand, which is generally used at national and international events, and God Save the King, which is associated mainly with occasions involving the King, the Governor-General or members of the Royal Family.

Not every incident involving a national anthem is political. Sometimes the wrong music is simply played.

One of the better-known examples occurred in Kuwait in 2012. Kazakh shooter Mariya Dmitriyenko won a gold medal and stood on the podium waiting for Kazakhstan's national anthem. Instead, the organisers accidentally played the parody version of the Kazakh anthem used in the comedy film Borat.

The organisers apologised, and the medal ceremony was repeated with the correct anthem.

A similar mistake occurred during the 2025 Champions Trophy in Lahore. Jana Gana Mana briefly began playing before an England-Australia cricket match when the Australian anthem was expected. India was not playing in the match.

Spain presents a different case. Its national anthem, Marcha Real, has no official lyrics. Spanish players and supporters therefore have no official words to sing when the anthem is played.

This has not prevented the anthem from becoming closely associated with Spanish national occasions and sporting events. It is another example of how countries develop different traditions around their national symbols.

Official recognition is also not the only way in which patriotic songs become part of public culture. Indian cinema and music have produced many such songs that have remained popular over several generations.

Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon is associated with remembrance and sacrifice. Kar Chale Hum Fida deals with sacrifice in war. Mere Desh Ki Dharti celebrates the land, while Aye Mere Pyare Watan expresses the feelings of someone living away from home.

A.R. Rahman's Maa Tujhe Salaam presented Vande Mataram in a contemporary musical form and brought it to a new generation of listeners.

Films such as Haqeeqat, Upkar, Purab Aur Paschim, Border, Lagaan, Swades, Rang De Basanti and Lakshya have dealt with patriotism in different ways and in different social and historical settings.

None of these songs required the formal status of a national song to become widely recognised or remembered, or invoking patriotic fevour.

Patriotism is influenced by many factors. A sense of belonging, participation in public life, shared experiences and expectations about a country's future can all contribute to it. Laws, ceremonies and national symbols form one part of that larger process.

Benedict Anderson, in Imagined Communities, examined national identity through the idea of people seeing themselves as members of a larger shared community. Mark Twain expressed a distinction between country and government in his often-quoted observation: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

An Indian can therefore respond to Vande Mataram, stand respectfully for Jana Gana Mana, and also feel an attachment to Saare Jahan Se Achha. The three have different histories and different formal positions, but all have found a place in Indian public life. National songs and anthems gain meaning not only from their official status, but also from how people accept and relate to them over time.

(The author is a management and Media eduactor)