MelloDrama over a Melody
“Vande Matram”
Peaceful Co-existance..
The next article in the attempt to bust the much needed misconception. It deals with the Radical and extremism mis-conception that is used to create an unnecessary division, by the Radical Hindu groups. This article is a mirror for you.. I beg your patience.
To start with this article needs a very insight probing into the origin of the two concepts :
Vande Matram
Islam
Let us understand Vande Matram first. It is indeed a melodious creation, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870s, which he included in his 1881 novel Anandamath. Its beauty, message cannot be denied and disrespected. The meaning and the message conveyed that this Song conveys is necessary to understand before we start to bust the Myths related to it.
It was originally written as an “Ode to Durga” as the Mother goddess, it was written both in Sanskrit and in Bengali script in the novel Anandmath. The title 'Vande Mataram' literally means "I bow to thee, Mother" or "I bow to thee, Mother" The "mother goddess" in later verses of the song has been interpreted as the motherland of the people - Bangamata (Mother Bengal) and Bharat Mata (Mother India)]though the text does not mention this explicitly.
The first two stanza adopted as our “National Song” are, we are going to concentrate on this because this is what the controversy is all about.
वन्दे मातरम् मैं आपके सामने नतमस्तक होता हूँ। ओ माता!
सुजलां सुफलाम् पानी से सींची, फलों से भरी,
मलयजशीतलाम् दक्षिण की वायु के साथ शान्त,
शस्यश्यामलाम् कटाई की फसलों के साथ गहरी,
मातरम्। माता!
शुभ्रज्योत्स्नापुलकितयामिनीम् उसकी रातें चाँदनी की गरिमा में प्रफुल्लित हो रही हैं,
फुल्लकुसुमितद्रुमदलशोभिनीम् उसकी जमीन खिलते फूलों वाले वृक्षों से बहुत सुन्दर ढकी हुई है,
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम् हँसी की मिठास, वाणी की मिठास,
सुखदां वरदां मातरम्।। 1।। माता! वरदान देने वाली, आनन्द देने वाली।
It is no doubt that it is a beautiful ode to India, that glorifies our country India in a touchy way. The fact that this is our National Song as per Constitution of India also adds a lot of value and respect to this Song. Being Indian it is our National duty to protect and respect the honour of Vande Matram.
The Conflict of Ideas : In light of ISLAM
To start with the basic requirement to be a follower of Islam, one has to follow the Five Pillars of Islam. If anyone deviates even slightly from the below pillars, He may not be a True Muslim according to the beliefs of Islam. What are those pillars and How they contradict Vende Matram, and an understanding of the epicentre of this Controversy is the solution to this ideological clash.
Five Pillars of Islam
Shahada: Faith in Tawhid (Monotheism: belief in the Oneness of God)
Salat: Prayer
Zakāt: Charity
Sawm: Fasting
Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca
The Reason Why Muslims reject to Singing “Vande Matram” and why you can’t force it on us lies in the highlighted lines.
“It becomes imperative to analyse the objections raised by the Muslim community against the recital of Vande Mataram.”
A comparative study reveals that the First and Last line of the song (Highlighted in yellow and red) and the First Pillar of Islam directly conflict each other, and hence the Origin of clash. How they conflict, let us see below.
The Muslim viewpoint is that Islam, being a monotheist religion, forbids the apotheosis of any deity, animate or inanimate, except God, the supreme creator.
In fact, ascribing divinity to even Prophet Mohammad is considered an act of blasphemy negating the very purpose of Islam, that is, to promote the concept of unity of mankind through the worship of a common creator (Allah, Vishnu, Mahesh, Bramha, Supreme Energy, Celestial being, Anantakaal, Parmatma) irrespective of whatever name you give to the Common Creator of ManKind.
In this context, those opposed to the Muslim point of view should know that Vande Mataram contains verses that are in direct conflict with the beliefs of Islam.
“When a Muslim sings these words he is forced to equate his country with the Hindu goddesses Durga and Lakshmi, thereby deifying the land of India.”
The words meaning “I Bow to Thee! Mother” , and “I seek Blessings from thee! Mother” are the actual cause of the issue. This goes against the concept of tawheed (oneness of God) according to which a Muslim cannot supplicate to anyone except the ultimate creator of Universe since and even before Big-Bang.
Being a muslim we cannot “Bow” even to our parents, and even to Prophet Muhammad. Paying respect and Bowing to someone are two different things.
Possible Solutions: A step towards Peaceful Co-existance.
Having understood the Root cause, the meaning of Vande Matram and its ideological differences with the Very first Pillar of Islam let us now look forward to the possible solution for this problem, so that it neither hurts the sentiments of Hindus, nor does it compel Muslims to set aside their personal faith and beliefs.
Fringe Hindu Groups, Radicalising and using this idea to create a Gap between both the communities must understand that you cannot force Us to deviate from the pillars of Islam, commit “Shirk” and follow your ideology in India, where Freedom to follow Religion prevails.
Muslims must understand that if anyone is singing “vande matram” the least you can do is listen, for it is our National Song indeed, and that instead of crticizing, try to spread the idea that why we object to this.
Hindu Groups must Understand that not singing “Vande Matram” in no way iindicates our hatred. It is in no way a question on our Patriotism and nationality. We love our country as much as you do. We pay equal respect to “Vande Matram” as you do, only we cannot recite it as it conflicts my beliefs as a muslim. Why Can’t you respect that? We have an equally beatiful creation “Saare Jahan se Achha” which no Muslim has objection to. No muslim has objection to National Anthem. This Vande Matram Controversy is a baseless, useless and fake fruit of the poison being fed into mind of my Hindu brothers and sisters, beware of it…
It must be understood that Muslims respect the right of the Hindus to worship any deity of their choice but at the same time they should not be forced to deviate from their monotheist beliefs by making them sing the Vande Mataram.
To be continued..
And My own views.
Shamaun Alam
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