What two gramophones tell us about Vande Mataram

In early 1938, the Indian National Congress gathered in Haripura, Gujarat for its 51st Annual Session. This meeting followed a Congress Working Committee meeting held in Calcutta a few months earlier, during which much had changed regarding Vande Mataram. Subhas Chandra Bose, the young President-elect, traveled to the Congress pavilion in a magnificent rath drawn by 51 bullocks, each carrying tricolour flags upon their heads and adorned with Vande Mataram bells.

Singers and musicians, including master musician RR Mukherjee, accompanied Bose to sing Vande Mataram during the ceremony. This event marked an experiment with the traditional way of presenting Vande Mataram and aimed to reaffirm its importance.

The Congress had long referred to Vande Mataram as the 'National Anthem' in its annual sessions and reports, often edited and prepared by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. At Haripura, Bose ensured that Vande Mataram was not only reaffirmed but also restored to its full glory. Timir Baran was tasked with creating a gramophone record, which was issued on a larger 12-inch disc to accommodate all six stanzas of Vande Mataram.

The label included a tricolour bearing the charkha, as well as the declarations 'BANDE MATARAM-SAMPOORN' (complete) and 'INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM'.

One year later, Nehru's Cabinet tentatively chose Jana Gana Mana as the National Anthem, while Vande Mataram was declared as an 'Indian National Congress Anthem'. This distinction between the two songs was further clarified in a Prime Minister's Secretariat note from 1955, where Vande Mataram was referred to as a 'Special National Song'. This distinction, though not having any constitutional, legal, or legislative basis, remained a point of controversy and debate for years to come.