The elected members of Parliament take the oath iterating that they shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India, uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and will faithfully discharge their duty, in pursuance of Art 99 of the Constitution. This is done at the commencement of a sitting of the House as provided in Rule 5, or at any other convenient time during the session of the House as the Speaker may direct.
Nusrat Jahan, the new Trinamul MP from Bashirhat Parliamentary constituency and joined politics only in 2019. She came to the Parliament, dressed in a saree, with vermillion on the parting of her hair, a large bindi on her forehead, mangalsutra on her neck, red bangles that are usually worn by new brides, signifying her wedded status. She married businessman Nikhil Jain at Bodrum, Turkey and had missed the oath-taking day, which was held later for her.
Everything was perfect to the Tee, as she read out the oath and ended with a Jai Hind, Jai Bangla and Vande Mataram. She finished her oath-taking, walked up to the Speaker and touched his feet, an act of obeisance, and walked back to her seat. The last two words those she chanted are anathema for many Muslim clergies, who suddenly sprang up to condemn her, beyond other things, her marriage to Nikhil Jain, a Hindu and her chanting Vande Mataram.
Vande Mataram was penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, as an alternative to the God Save the Queen, which was being pushed by the British. In his novel Anandamath in 1881, he included this song as well, which became a symbol of expression of freedom, when it was sung by Rabindranath Tagore in the 1896 session of Indian National Congress. The novel and the song were promptly banned by the British.
Vande Mataram became the choice for great freedom-fighters like Chandrasekhar Azad, Ashafullah Khan, Maghfoor Ahmed, Bhagat Singh, Shahnawaz Khan, Maulana Azad, Gandhi Ji, and Ambedkar.
‘Vande Mataram,’ meaning I praise thee, my mother, is the most iconic and promising slogan of all times. Traces of its existence found during the Sannyasi-Fakir Rebellion of 1767-1800, many years before the first war of independence. Attributing a gender for their country is not uncommon, India is called Bharat Mata, meaning ‘Mother India,’ to infuse a bond of unparalleled love and respect between the country and its citizens. There are also countries like Germany, Scandinavia, Central Asian republics, Slavic and Baltic nations which are called ‘Fatherland.’
The objection for the clergies emanates from the fact that the freedom struggle, portrayed the country not only as a mother but as a manifest of Goddess Durga and the term Vande for them could be arguable ‘to bow’ in reverence, which is proscribed by Islam. The Sanskrit translation could more apt be ‘praise’ instead of a bow as ascribed.
One cannot forget that moment when a physically weak and ailing, Bharat Ratna, Late Ustad Bismillah Khan, couldn’t control the tears in his eyes, while he was playing Vande Mataram in the Parliament. Our then-president, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam just went up on stage to kiss Bismillah’s hand. How can one forget A.R. Rahman’s rendition of Vande Mataram song? It still gives Goosebumps to me!
Our Chief Minister never fails to chant La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah, meaning there is no god other than Allah, while simultaneously invoking every other Hindu God like Kali and Durga (except Ram though!) Hindu religious leaders have not objected to this. That’s religious tolerance.
Nusrat is the face of a new India, which finds no difficulty to integrate comfortably with modernism, shunning the draconian maulvis and their fatwas.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
