Christian Forum Seeks Reversion to Earlier Vande Mataram

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Christian Leaders Forum (APCLF) on Tuesday underlined that Christian community respects Vande Mataram as a patriotic song. However, it expressed its opposition to the six stanzas recently mandated by the central government and sought their immediate withdrawal.

Addressing a press conference in Vijayawada, APCLF state chairman Oliver Rayi said while Christians have never had objection to the Vande Mataram being sung earlier, which had been decided upon by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and poet Rabindranath Tagore.

He pointed out that earlier, only two stanzas had been rendered. The four newly added stanzas, he contended, contain references to Goddess Durga, which undermine Christian beliefs and sentiments.

“India is a secular nation and a confluence of diverse cultures, traditions, castes and religions. Imposing religiously loaded content in educational institutions is unacceptable,” the APCLF chairman maintained.

In this regard, he recalled a Supreme Court observation that singing Vande Mataram cannot be made mandatory and must remain a matter of individual choice.

APCLF secretary Rev. Pastor Arul Arusu alleged that minority rights and religious freedom were being undermined. State coordinator Nellapati Samuel maintained that Vande Mataram’s additional stanzas have brought in sectarian overtones.

Those present at the press conference included several church and Christian organisation leaders.