Vande Mataram - Expose the Mullah’s specious argument
Last weekend, I watched a few minutes of a televised discussion on the debate around making “Vande Mataram” compulsory in schools. It was on ITV moderated by Barkha Dutt and the panellists included Swapan Dasgupta, Abhishek Singhvi and Bala (I missed the full name – but he is the producer of A R Rehman’s rendition of Vande Mataram).
There was a point made by someone from the audience who said that Muslims cannot sing “Vande Mataram” because worshipping any God other Allah is blasphemy and heretical. This is also the reason why fatwas have been issues by several Muslim scholars asking Muslim children not to participate in the singing of Vande Mataram in schools. (see my earlier post on this).
This is such a facile and specious argument that I am surprised it was not rebutted immediately by the panellists or someone from the audience. Here are a couple of points that I would make to counter the views of Muslim scholars.
1. “Vande Mataram” is really a song in praise of the “matrubhoomi” (motherland) – and not in worship of a particular God or Goddess: Revering the “motherland” is not the same as worshipping (reverence is not the same as worship – which is more specifically directed towards a diety). This point was indirectly made by Bala during the televised debate when he said that even Islam asks people to love their country.
2. The iconic representation of the country as “Bharat Mata” is symbolic: Surely no one worships Bharat Mata the way they worship Shri Ram, Shri Krishna or Allah. It seems to me that Muslim scholars are making a mountain out of nothing – there does not seem to be a point of contention here and no one is asking them to worship another (or an additional) God. Why doesn’t anyone expose their specious arguments?
ADDENDUM (Sept 12th ‘06):
On Yahoo! Groups, Dr Kalyanaraman posted this analysis which makes the case that the “Vande” in Vande Mataram is not “ibadah” or “bandagi”;
Muslim Law Board pundits to note.Half-knowledge is a dangerous thing; half-baked etyma are also dangerous things. It is unfortunate that islamists try to equate vande in ancient Indian languages with the Persian ‘bandagi’ or Arabic ‘ibadah’.
…To perform vandana is a Hindu tradition and has no equivalent cultural traditions in Arabic or Persian traditions. I don’t think salah is semantically with namah (ancient Indian languages).
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Vande
Vande in ancient Indian languages is semantically relatable to ‘greeting’.
Bandagi in Persin is semantically relatable to the islamist concept of servitude. There is no word for ’servitude or slavery’ in ancient Indian languages. The closest words are ’seva’ which means, ’service’ and another word is ‘bandhana’ which means ‘tie, string, knot’. The words ‘bhakti’ or ‘puja’ have other semantics.
Vand and cognate vad ‘to say’ are Sanskrit roots, yielding forms such as vandyate, avandi, vandi, vandat, vivandis.u. In Markandeya Purana, the meaning read is: ‘to offer anything or greet respectfully.
vand in Rigveda means: ‘to praise, to celebrate, to show honor, to salute, to be venerated’. In RV sukta 1.27 (rishi s’unahs’epa aajigarti, vais’vamitra), the word vand is repeatedly used; fore.g. in RV 1.27.1as’vam na tvaa vaaravantam vandadhyaa agnim namobhih samraajantam adhvaraan.aamThis rica clearly uses vanda to distinguish it from namah.
The meaning is rendered based ony Sayana: RV1.027.01 (I proceed) to address you, the soverign lord of sacrifice, with praises, (for you scatter our fores) like a horse (who brushes off flies with) his tail.In this rica, the root vand simply means vad ‘to address, to say, to speak’.
Similarly, in RV 1.61.05, the line reads: veeram daanaukasam vandadhyai purram goortas’ravasam darmaan.am; meaning: “…in order to celebrate the heroic, munificent, and food-conferring Indra, the destroyer of the cities (of the asuras).
Bandagi
The word ‘bandagi’ in Persian is based on a different root, bandh ‘to bind’ yielding the Persian meaning of ’servitude’. It is well-known that Islamism asks for total surrender and servitude. This meaning is NOT the intention of the word vande used in Vande Mataram in Bengali language by Bankim Chandra.
There also seems to be some confusion caused by ibadah = prayers (Arabic) Ibadah is NO WAY relatable to vande from root vand in Old Indian languages. bandagi - Farsi bandagi: slavery, bondage, servitude; service; devotion, adoration, worship, praise; compliment, salutation; humility, lowliness; or, as an intj. My service to you! good-bye! thank you! (fjs202, jtp169)
Old Indian languages: badhnf?ti, bandhati, ptc. baddha?- `to bind, tie, fix’; ba?ndhana- n. `act of binding, tying’; bandha?- m. `binding, tying, bond’ For example, man.ibandha means ‘wrist’ (Skt.) Munda languages: beR.be ?>(D) {V} “to put on a bandage”. |<beR.be?> `to give’. @(D). ??Cf. <Dasei> `to adhere’. .<duarO bOndO>(K) {N} “door [K], ?? [P]”. |<bandhO> `??’. *$Mu.<silpiG> `a door of interlaced bamboo or wood’. *Hi.<bA~dho> `tie, knot, string; the semantics of ’string’ leads to the English word ‘bandage’Avestan: bandayaiti `bindet’, ptc. basta-; banda- m. `Fessel’ Other Iranian: OPers ptc. basta-Old Greek: pOE?^sma (? -e^i-) n. `Tau, Seil’Germanic: *bind-a- vb., *bund-n-a- vb., *bund-ia- n., *bun-s-t-u- c.; *band-a- m., n.; *bind-ia- n., *bind-i?(n)- f., *bund-il-a- m.; *band-i- c., *band-il-a- m., *band-ia- vb.Germanic etymology:Latin: offend-x, –cis f. `das Kinnband an der Priesterm?nze’, {offendimentum ‘ds.’ }
Celtic: *bend-, *bondnja- > Gaul benna `genus vehiculi’; OIr buinne `Band, (Arm)reif’; Cyumr benn `Fuhrwerk’
References: WP II 152
Proto-IE: *bhendh-Meaning: relative (by marriage)Old Indian: ba?ndhu- m. `kinship, kindred; connection, relation’
Old Greek: penthero?-s m. `Schwiegervater, Vater der Frau; Schwager, Schwiegersohn’, penther…? f. `Schwiegermuteer’Baltic: *ben~d-r-a- m.
http://ehl.santafe.edu/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=config&morpho=0&basename=/data/ie/piet&first=301
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ADDENDUM - II (19th Aug ‘07):
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vande_mataram
Though a number of Muslim organizations and individuals have opposed Vande Mataram being used as a “national song” of India, citing many religious reasons, some Muslim personalities have admired and even praised Vande Mataram as the “National Song of India” . Arif Mohammed Khan,who was for a long time Member of Parliament has even written an Urdu translation of Vande Mataram which starts as Tasleemat, maan tasleemat.[7]
In 2006, amidst the controversy of whether singing of the song in schools should be mandatory or optional, some Indian Muslims did show support for singing the song.[6]All India Sunni Ulema Board on Sept 6, 2006 issued a fatwa that the Muslims can sing the first two verses of the song. The Board president Moulana Mufti Syed Shah Badruddin Qadri Aljeelani said that “If you bow at the feet of your mother with respect, it is not shirk but only respect.”[8] Shia scholar and All India Muslim Personal Law Board vice-president Maulana Kalbe Sadiq stated on Sept 5, 2006 that scholars need to examine the term “vande”. He asked, “Does it mean salutation or worship?”[9]
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Related Post: ‘Recitation of Vande Mataram against Islam’…
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National song “Vande Mataram” rankles Kashmir clerics
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/national-song-rankles-kashmir-clerics/52345-3.html
New Delhi: The national song ‘Vande Mataram’ has generated more controversy, this time on the occasion of Children’s Day.
Muslim clerics had been angered when hundreds of children sang ‘Vande Mataram’ at a Children’s Day function in Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Centre.
They claim that singing ‘Vande Mataram’ is against the tenets of Islam as it encourages idol worship.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was also present at the event.
But sources say that the CM has kicked up a political controversy in Srinagar.
“The average Muslim has also refused to sing this,” said Grand Mufti Bashiruddin. “It follows, then, how can you ask children to sing it at a government-organised function? These children neither know what this is about, nor sympathise with it.”
Leading Kashmiri separatists as well as members of civil society have come out saying that Azad should not have used the education department for his vested political purposes.
The Grand Mufti added, “Innocent children were used to sing ‘Vande Mataram’, which has been in the centre of controversy, in the country since last year.”
Many now believe that Ghulam Nabi Azad is following the policy of appeasement of the Gandhi-Nehru family.
Azad had earlier kicked up a controversy when he had tried to equate Mahatma Gandhi with the late Prophet. That time, too, he drawn tremendous flak from separatist leaders and Muslim scholars.
‘Vande Mataram’ has never been sung in the past 100 years in the Kashmir Valley.
In fact, the move had been opposed in the 18th century by Muslim scholars.
According to sources, Azad had issued instructions to the Education Ministry that they should assemble at least some 50,000 students by the lake-side for the function.
This controversy may snowball into something larger as there have been protests from the Muslim community in other parts of the country.
Comment by Gope Lalwani | November 16, 2007
I think the Most Exalted Right Honourable Mullahsahib should first issue more fatwas on other things encouraging idol-worship:
1. No muslim needs should cricket
2. No muslim should see any movies
3. No muslim should watch TV
4. Shia Islam, which worships “pirs”, needs to be fatwa’ed
5. Muslim moms need to stop loving their baby sons and daughters..you never know, babies are like little idols onlee..
Comment by Ashish | November 16, 2007
I don’t know what according to Muslim authorities is allowed by their “ALLAH”.
They say that drinking alcohol is not allowed to any of the Muslim in the world, but I want to question that is it really followed.
Now when government is making attempts for vande matram to make it the national song then only Muslims are finding problems in that and no other.
Mother is praised even in every epic still according to Muslim they cannot praise mother in this. I mean what is problem in praising mother who has given birth to us.
It just foolishness
ASHU
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Comment by ASHU | July 5, 2008