[9][10][11][12] Indian nationalist and philosopher Sri Aurobindo referred to Vande Mataram as the "national Anthem of Bengal".

[16] The song, as well as Anandmath, were banned under British colonial rule under threat of imprisonment, making its use revolutionary.

[17][18] On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Vande Mataram as the Republic's national song.

[19] While the Constitution of India does not make reference to a "national song",[20][21] the Government filed an affidavit at the Delhi High Court in November 2022 stating that Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram would “stand on the same level”, and that citizens should show equal respect to both.

[25] Indian Muslims and Sikhs have opposed the singing of Vande Mataram since in Islam and Sikhism, the homeland cannot be considered as a goddess.

[27][28] The word Mātaram has Indo-European roots in mātár- (Sanskrit), méter (Greek), mâter (Latin) which mean "mother".

[14] The original Vande Mataram consists of six stanzas and the translation in prose for the complete poem by Shri Aurobindo appeared in Karmayogin, 20 November 1909.

Thou art Goddess Durga, Lady and Queen, With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen, Thou art Goddess Kamala (Lakshmi), lotus-throned, And Goddess Vani (Saraswati), bestower of wisdom known Pure and perfect without peer, Mother lend thine ear, Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams, Dark of hue O candid-fair [Verse 4]

Chattopadhyay was very interested in recent events in Indian and Bengali history, particularly the Revolt of 1857 and the previous century's Sanyasi Rebellion.

It is generally believed that the concept of Vande Mataram came to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay when he was still a government official, around 1876.

[42] He wrote Vande Mataram at Chinsura (Chuchura), in a white colour house of Adhya Family near Hooghly river (near Jora Ghat) in West Bengal.

The poem was published in Chattopadhyay's book Anandamath (pronounced Anondomôţh in Bengali) in 1882, which is set in the events of the Sannyasi Rebellion.

[17] Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram in 1896 at the Calcutta Congress Session held at Beadon Square.

[43] In 1907, Bhikaiji Cama (1861–1936) created the first version of India's national flag (the Tiranga) in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907.

[46] The book written by the famous martyr of Kakori Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil was proscribed by the colonial government.

[citation needed] Mahatama Gandhi supported adoption and the singing of the Vande Mataram song.

[47][note 3] Parts of the Vande Mataram was chosen as the national song in 1937 by the Indian National Congress as it pursued the independence of India from colonial rule, after a committee consisting of Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Acharya Deva, and Rabindranath Tagore recommended the adoption.

[49] The entire song was not selected by Hindu leaders in order to respect the sentiments of non-Hindus, and the gathering agreed that anyone should be free to sing an alternate "unobjectionable song" at a national gathering if they do not want to sing Vande Mataram because they find it "objectionable" for a personal reason.

[5][50] Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue: ...The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it.

Versions of the song have been visualised on celluloid in a number of films, including Leader, Amar Asha, and Anand Math.

It is widely believed that the tune set for All India Radio station version was composed by Ravi Shankar.

[52] In 2002, BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time.

[54] In July 2017, the Madras High Court ruled that the Vande Mataram shall be sung or played at least once a week in all schools, universities and other educational institutions of Tamil Nadu.

The Court also ruled that the song should be played or sung in government offices and industrial facilities at least once a month.