New Delhi, Dec. 19 -- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently relied on identity-based issues to polarise society and derive electoral advantage. From the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute to campaigns around cow protection, so-called "love jihad", and other manufactured "jihads", such themes have served as key political tools. Adding to this repertoire, the issue of the national song Vande Mataram has recently been brought to the fore.

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram (7 November 2025), written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee-a deputy collector under the British administration-the ruling dispensation revived a settled controversy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress, under...