Vande Mataram symbol of nationalist ethos: Minister

New Delhi Aug 10 (IANS) Vande Mataram is a symbol of India s nationalist ethos and it is wrong to associate it with any particular religion or sect said Jitendra Singh Union Minister of State for Development of North East Region here on Thursday.

Recalling that Vande Mataram first came to be known in the form of a poem composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870s which was later included in the author s 1881 novel "Anandamath" Singh said that the most significant part is that several verses of the song were adopted as the National Song in early 20th century.

"Same later became a popular marching song for political activists and crusaders of India s freedom movement " said Singh adding that Vande Mataram can be appropriately described as a symbol which united people of India from different regions religions and faiths.

Singh was speaking during the release of a book titled "Vande Mataram" written by Akhilesh Jha and Rashmita Jha which focuses on the references to the song during the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly and the Indian Parliament.

--IANS
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