Latest news with #GoaDay
Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: ‘Bharat Mata', ‘Mother India', ‘Vande Mataram': As another row erupts, what lies beneath
IN THE SPACE of a week, Kerala has seen two rows break out over a portrait of 'Bharat Mata'. First, the LDF state government relocated its World Environment Day celebrations from the Raj Bhavan, claiming that the photo of Bharat Mata on display at the event was 'one used by the RSS'. But, days later, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar paid tributes to the same image during Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan. Objecting to the use of the image at Raj Bhavan, CPI leader and Agriculture Minister P Prasad said, 'A seat of a constitutional body should not be using this.' Arlekar, who recently took over as Governor after a long period of fractious relationship between the LDF government and Raj Bhavan, hit back, saying, 'Whatever be the pressure from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata.' State BJP leader N Hari also attacked the LDF, claiming 'they are afraid to say Bharat Mata… due to vote bank politics'. While the symbolic icon of Bharat Mata, or Mother India, has often been depicted in art, there is no official version of the portrayal. The image used at the Kerala Raj Bhavan, for instance, depicted Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag in front of a relief map of India. The Left objected to this. Another image, used by the CPI for a local party event in the middle of the row incidentally, showed Bharat Mata carrying the Tricolour. As the BJP celebrated the Left's use of the image, the party hastily withdrew the same. In the history of modern Indian art, Bharat Mata has adorned the canvas of only two artists of repute. The first was the product of the Bengal Renaissance, Abanindranath Tagore, who first visualised the Indian nation as the Mother. The second was the modernist M F Husain, whose painting of Bharat Mata was banned and trashed – and he was forced to spend his last years outside his country. The imagery first appeared in the works of artists and writers in Bengal, much before it was used elsewhere in the context of India's national movement for Independence. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1882 novel Anand Math contained the hymn to the motherland Vande Mataram, which became the mantra of the freedom movement, and the official song of India after Independence. The novel depicts the three faces of Bharat Mata as Goddesses Jagaddhatri, Kali and Durga. Two decades later, in 1905, after partition of Bengal under Lord Curzon, Abanindranath painted his iconic Bharat Mata, a woman in saffron robes, with a serene face and halo around her head, beads and scriptures in her hands. The revolutionary Aurobindo Ghose wrote in a letter to his wife Mrinalini Devi in August that same year: 'I look upon my country as the Mother. I adore her, I worship Her as the Mother. What would a son do if a demon sat on his mother's breast and started sucking her blood?' Mother India retained her symbolic force through the national movement, even though the metaphor often changed with the speaker who employed it. In The Discovery of India, written by him in jail in the 1940s, Jawaharlal Nehru recounted his experience when people greeted him with slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. 'Who was this Bharat Mata, Mother India, whose victory they wanted?… Mother India was essentially these millions of people, and victory to her meant victory to these people,' he wrote. The first major enunciation of the Mother India concept came in the writings of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. 'The foundation of our nationalism is Bharat Mata,' he wrote. 'Remove Mata, Bharat will be reduced to just a piece of land.' However, this was merely a paraphrasing of what Bankim had written nearly a century ago, when he elaborated on the notion of Mother India as a woman having the characteristics of Sujala, Suphala (overflowing with water and laden with fruits) and Dashapraharana Dharini Durga (Goddess Durga with her 10 weapons), Lakshmi and Saraswati. The imagery was also used in popular media and Hindi cinema – the iconic frame of actress Nargis, with a yoke and two babies, was an unforgettable cultural intervention, in 1957's film Mother India. Several historians have pointed out that the Bharat Mata visualised by its pioneers was more a 'Banga Mata', or Mother Bengal, with the deities they invoked being Kali and Durga, often their family deities. In Vande Mataram, Bankim called upon only the 'sapt koti' or seven crore people of Bengal. The first critics of the metaphor too came from among its inventors. Fifteen years after the Partition of Bengal, in August 1920, Aurobindo underlined the limits of the slogan and sought a greater mantra: 'We used the Mantra Bande Mataram with all our heart and soul… (but) the cry of the Mantra began to sink and as it rang feebly, the strength began to fade out of the country… A greater Mantra than Bande Mataram has to come.' The first two paragraphs of Bankim's Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song after Independence. The government did not retain the verses that mentioned either 'sapt koti', or the eulogies to the Goddesses Durga and Lakshmi. The obvious reference to Bengali nationhood was removed. Almost up to Independence, few underlined the religious overtones of the slogan, and it remained an essential mantra of an occupied country, a rallying call for its people. It found little resistance from other communities until 1947, when during the Partition riots, 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' was perceived as a communal slogan, the same as 'Allah-o-Akbar'. But, barring some isolated voices against Vande Matram, Mother India remained a largely benign concept that did not attract controversy. During the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of the late 1980s, however, 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' was used for communal mobilisation. Now Bharat Mata was an aggressive image, carrying swords and other weapons, and sometimes riding a tiger. The Anna Hazare movement of 2011, one of the biggest mass mobilisations of recent decades, which shook the Central government and paved the way for the emergence ultimately of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, used the image of Bharat Mata as the rallying point for an anti-corruption crusade. More recently, in February 2023, the Indian Council for Historical Research, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, faced 'objections' over a photo of Bharat Mata in its office, alongside pictures of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In early 2016, after allegedly anti-India slogans were raised at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, leading to a sedition case against its then students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that youth should be taught to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi shot back, saying he would not chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' even if a knife were put to his throat, prompting the Shiv Sena to tell Owaisi to 'go to Pakistan'. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale then referred to Owaisi as 'anti-national' and a 'traitor'. Later, in March 2016, AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for refusing to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', even as he said he was willing to chant 'Jai Hind'. At the time, the BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP together backed a resolution to suspend Pathan for the remainder of the Budget Session. However, weeks after the controversy, BJP veteran L K Advani called the row over the slogan 'meaningless', while Bhagwat said nobody should be 'forced' to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. In 2020, in the aftermath of the Delhi riots, former PM Manmohan Singh said the slogan was 'being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens' while speaking at the launch of a book titled 'Who is Bharat Mata'.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bharat Mata on poster for CPI meet, party pulls it out
Kottayam: Even as the controversy over displaying Bharat Mata portrait at a function in Raj Bhavan continued, a poster for Kottayam CPI conference displayed Bharat Mata holding a national flag. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sensing trouble, party district leadership immediately withdrew the poster that appeared on various social media platforms. The poster was brought out in connection with the delegates' meet to be held from June 13 to 15. Bharat Mata was draped in a tricolour saree on the poster. CPI district secretary V B Binu said it was not right to use the national flag along with the party symbol or use it along with party functions. He cited this for withdrawing the poster immediately after it came to his notice. The controversy began on June 5 when agriculture minister P Prasad of CPI opted out of the World Environment Day function at Raj Bhavan after governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar insisted on displaying Bharat Mata's portrait at the event. After CPI withdrew the poster, BJP congratulated CPI's Kottayam district leadership for circulating the poster and termed it as a response to Prasad's decision to boycott the event at Raj Bhavan. In a statement, BJP functionary N Hari said that the poster was the beginning of a big change and that it was regrettable that the Left party withdrew it and issued an explanation. During the freedom struggle, leaders of the movement had proudly raised 'Bharat Mata ki jai' slogans, but that is not the situation now, Hari's statement added. "They are afraid to say Bharat Mata and this fear is due to vote bank politics," he alleged. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Monday, Arlekar paid tributes to a Bharat Mata portrait during Goa Day celebrations at Raj Bhavan. Goa Foundation Day was celebrated at the Kerala Raj Bhavan as part of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' initiative, the governor's office said. Earlier, Prasad, who refused to pay floral tributes to the portrait, said there was no official version of Bharat Mata according to the Constitution or India govt, and the portrait at the event was widely used by RSS. Shortly thereafter, CPI announced a campaign of hoisting the national flag and planting saplings before it. On June 7, CPI hoisted national flags and planted saplings at all its branches and also raised Bharat Mata ki jai slogans. The very next day, Arlekar took a dig at the Left party saying, "Those who never thought of Bharat Mata are saying Bharat Mata ki jai. That is a good contribution. I appreciate that." The same day, CPM state secretary M V Govindan came out in support of its LDF ally saying there was no concept of Bharat Mata as it was not there in the Constitution. (With agency inputs)
Deccan Herald
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
'Bharat Mata' row continues in Kerala with Guv tribute to portrait, CPI poster withdrawal
As part of the Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Arlekar paid floral tributes to the same 'Bharat Mata' portrait which had resulted in State Agricultural Minister P Prasad boycotting the Environment Day event there last week.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Bharat Mata' row continues in Kerala with Governor's tribute to portrait, CPI poster withdrawal
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The ' Bharat Mata ' controversy continued in Kerala as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar paid tributes to a 'Bharat Mata' portrait during Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan , while the CPI withdrew a local party event poster featuring a different version of the image, showing her holding the national part of the Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Arlekar paid floral tributes to the same 'Bharat Mata' portrait which had resulted in State Agricultural Minister P Prasad boycotting the Environment Day event there last Foundation Day was celebrated at the Kerala Raj Bhavan as part of the ' Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat ' initiative, the Governor's office same day, the CPI withdrew a poster, in connection with a local party event here from June 13 to 15, that carried an image of 'Bharat Mata' dressed in a tricolor saree and holding the national flag.V B Binu, CPI District Secretary, said that as soon as information about the poster was received, instructions were given to withdraw it from social media to avoid "unnecessary controversy".He also said that it was not right to combine the national flag with party programmes or CPI, the second-largest partner in the ruling LDF in Kerala, was the first to object to the use of the 'Bharat Mata' portrait by the Raj leader and minister, Prasad, boycotted the Environment Day event at the Raj Bhavan as floral tributes had to be paid to the had later said that there was no official version of the 'Bharat Mata' according to the Constitution or the India government and the portrait at the event was widely used by the RSS Shortly thereafter, the CPI announced a campaign of hoisting the national flag and planting saplings before June 7, it hoisted national flags and planted saplings at all its branches and also raised ' Bharat Mata ki jai ' very next day, Arlekar took a dig at the Left party saying, "Those who never thought of 'Bharat Mata' are saying 'Bharat Mata ki jai'. That is a good contribution. I appreciate that." The same day, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said that there was no concept of 'Bharat Mata' as it was not there in the Constitution.
Hans India
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta joins Goa Day celebrations at Secretariat
New Delhi: As part of the Delhi government's tradition of honouring the cultural diversity of different states, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday led the celebrations on the occasion of Goa Day at Delhi Secretariat, an official said. The celebration was organised by the Department of Art, Culture, and Languages, with the aim of showcasing the glorious cultural heritage, traditions, and historical legacy of the state of Goa to the general public. CM Gupta said: 'A large number of Goan citizens reside in Delhi, and through their hard work and dedication, they contribute significantly not only to the progress of their own state but also to that of the entire nation.' 'Goa is renowned not only for its natural beauty but also for its rich cultural heritage, peaceful lifestyle, and spirit of progress. Recently, the Delhi government has decided that the foundation day of every state will be celebrated with enthusiasm and dignity, to strengthen national unity and cultural diversity,' she said. During the programme, artists associated with the Sahitya Kala Parishad gave mesmerising performances of Goa's traditional folk dances, music, and arts. Among them, the presentation of Goa's famous folk dance Fugdi was a major highlight. This dance captivated the audience with its vigorous rhythm and traditional style. Additionally, the performances by male and female artistes dressed in traditional attire vividly brought the cultural diversity to life, said an official statement. Minister of Art, Culture and Languages, Kapil Mishra, stated: "Goa is not only a cultural leader but also a frontrunner in tourism, social, and economic aspects of India. The social, cultural, and educational cooperation between Delhi and Goa is continuously strengthening, and we believe this partnership will grow even deeper in the future." A special exhibition was also organised to showcase Goa's traditional artistic practices, craftsmanship, and cultural symbols.
