About Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay:

• Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, also known as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, was one of the greatest novelists and poets of India.
• He is famous as the author of Vande Mataram, the national song of India.
• His famous novels include Durgeshnandini, Kapalkundala (1866), Mrinalini (1869), Vishbriksha (1873), Chandrasekhar (1877), Rajani (1877), Rajsimha (1881), and Devi Chaudhurani (1884).
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's most famous novel was Anand Math (1882).
  • It was set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century.
  • Anand Math contained the song “Vande Mataram”, which was later adopted as the national song.
    • The patriotic song was written in Sanskrit.
    • In the year 1896, Rabindranath Tagore sang this melodic poem for the first time at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.
    • It was officially adopted as the national song by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24th January 1950.
  • He is often regarded as the “Sahitya Samrat” (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali literature.

About C-130J Super Hercules:

• It is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.
• It was developed by Lockheed Martin, a US security and aerospace company.
• It is the US Air Force’s principal tactical cargo and personnel transport aircraft.
• It is the current variant of the C-130 Hercules.
• The largest operators are the US Air Force, US Marine Corps, Australia, Canada, India, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) currently operates 12 C-130J Super Hercules.
• Features:
  • The aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for airdropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.
  • It can accommodate a wide variety of oversized cargo, including everything from utility helicopters and six-wheeled armored vehicles to standard palletized cargo and military personnel.
  • Equipped with an Infrared Detection Set, the aircraft can perform precision low-level flying, airdrops, and landing in blackout conditions.

About INS Gharial:

• INS Gharial (L23) is a Magar-class amphibious warfare vessel of the Indian Navy.
• It is the second indigenously built Landing Ship Tank (Large).
• It was built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.
• It is one of the largest ships of the Indian Navy.
• It was commissioned as a part of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command.
• It is capable of carrying helicopters and Landing Craft Assault (LCA).
• It is also armed with guns and rocket launchers.

About Sudden Stratospheric Warming event:

• It refers to a rapid rise in stratospheric temperatures that weakens or distorts the polar vortex (a cold-air mass typically stabilized over the Arctic).
• Occurrence of the event:
  • It begins with large-scale atmosphere waves (called Rossby waves) getting pushed higher into the atmosphere.
  • These waves can “break” (like waves in the ocean) on top of the polar vortex and weaken it.
  • If waves are strong enough, the winds of the polar vortex can weaken so much that they can reverse from being westerly to easterly.
  • This leads to cold air descending and warming rapidly.
  • It can lead to a displacement or splitting of the polar vortex, so instead of cold air being locked above the polar region, it can push further south into the mid-latitudes.

What is Polar Vortex?

• It is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. 
• It extends from the tropopause (the dividing line between the stratosphere and troposphere) through the stratosphere and into the mesosphere.
• It always exists near the poles, but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter.
• Many times, during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream.
  • Jet streams are relatively narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere.
• This occurs fairly regularly during wintertime and is often associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the United States.

About India International Science Festival:

• It was launched in 2015.
• IISF aims to bring together people and the scientific community both nationally and internationally to collaborate, interact, and experience the joy of doing science for the wellbeing of India and humanity, guided by the spirit of swadeshi.
• Mission of IISF: Bridging traditional knowledge systems with modern scientific research thereby strengthening the link between India’s indigenous knowledge heritage and contemporary scientific inquiry.

Key Facts about India International Science Festival 2025

• It is organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and coordinated by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune.
• The theme of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2025: “Vigyan Se Samruddhi: for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
• The event will feature technical and thematic sessions across science, technology and innovation.
• IISF 2025 will focus on five broad themes:
  • Science, Technology and Ecology of North-West India and the Himalayan Region;
  • Science for Society and Education;
  • Atmanirbhar Bharat through Science and Technology;
  • Biotechnology and Bio-economy; and
  • Integration of Traditional Knowledge with Modern Science.

About National Mission on Edible Oils

• It aims to strengthen the country’s oilseed ecosystem and achieve self-reliance in edible oil production.
• Targets of the mission
  • It targets to increase the area coverage and primary oilseed production.
  • It targets domestic edible oil production and seeks to expand oilseed cultivation mainly by targeting rice and potato fallow lands.
• It has two-pronged approach:
  • NMEO – Oil Palm (2021):
    • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, with the aim to enhance the edible oilseeds production and oils availability in the country by area expansion and increasing Crude Palm Oil (CPO) production.
    • It is focused on expanding oil palm cultivation and increasing domestic crude palm oil output.
    • It focuses on increasing production of seedlings by establishment of seed garden, and nurseries of oil palm in order to assure domestic availability of seedlings as per target fixed under NMEO-OP.
  • Implementation: The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) serves as the nodal central authority.
  • NMEO – Oilseeds (2024):
    • It is aimed at improving productivity, seed quality, processing, and market linkages for traditional oilseed crops.
    • Focus: It focuses on increasing production of key primary oilseed crops such as Rapeseed-Mustard, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, Sesamum, Safflower, Niger, Linseed and Castor.
    • It also focuses on increasing collection and extraction efficiency from secondary sources like cottonseed, coconut, rice bran as well as Tree-Borne Oilseeds (TBOs).
  • Implementation: It will be implemented in all States/UTs with the funding pattern of 60:40 in case of general States, Delhi & Puducherry and 90:10 in case of North-Eastern States and hill States, and 100% funding for UTs and Central Agencies.

About UN Environment Assembly:

• It is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment.
• Member Countries: It the universal membership of all UN Member States and the full involvement of major groups and stakeholders.
• It is organised every 2 years.
• Background: UNEA was created in 2012, as an outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil.
• Functions of UN Environment Assembly:
  • It sets the global environmental agenda, provides overarching policy guidance, and defines policy responses to address emerging environmental challenges.
  • It undertakes policy review, dialogue and the exchange of experiences, sets the strategic guidance on the future direction of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
  • It fosters partnerships for achieving environmental goals and resource mobilization.
• Seventh UNEA session (2025) Theme: "Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet".

About Japan:

• It is an island nation in East Asia, situated in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
• Maritime borders: It is bordered by Pacific Ocean (East), Sea of Okhotsk (North), Sea of Japan (West East) and East China Sea (Southwest).
• Political Structure: Parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy.
• Capital City: Tokyo, located in east-central Honshu.
• Geographical Features of Japan:
  • It comprises a chain of islands.
  • Main Islands(north to south): Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
  • Terrain: Over 80% mountainous, with rugged terrain.
  • Volcanic activity: It is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
  • Highest peak: Mount Fuji
  • Major mountain ranges: Japanese Alps
  • Major rivers: Shinano River (longest), Tone River, Kiso River.
  • Climate: It ranges from subarctic in the north to humid subtropical in the south.
  • It is often disturbed by earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions due to tectonic activity. 

Why in news?

Parliament held a special discussion to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, a song deeply woven into India’s freedom movement yet continuously debated for its religious imagery and political interpretations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Lok Sabha debate on this.

The commemoration comes amid fresh political contention over the song’s origins, symbolism, and the decisions made by national leaders regarding its usage.

Once a patriotic hymn in Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, Vande Mataram evolved into a rallying cry for nationalism, though concerns over its later stanzas led the Congress in 1937 to officially adopt only the first two.

In the Constituent Assembly, the song was ultimately accorded “equal honour and status” with the National Anthem.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Origins of Vande Mataram
• From song to slogan: Birth of a nationalist cry
• The song and the Indian National Congress
• Constituent Assembly’s Resolution: Equal Status for Vande Mataram (1950)

Origins of Vande Mataram

• According to a historical account cited by the PIB, Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay composed Vande Mataram around 1875.
• The song gained prominence when his novel Anandamath was serialized in Bangadarshan magazine in 1881.
• Sri Aurobindo wrote in Bande Mataram (1907) that the hymn captured the spirit of patriotic devotion.
• Literary Context: Anandamath
  • Anandamath tells the story of the Santanas, ascetic warriors committed to liberating the motherland from oppression.
  • Their loyalty is to Bharat Mata, represented as a personified motherland rather than a religious deity.
• Symbolism of the Three Mothers
  • In the Santanas’ temple, three forms of the Mother are depicted:
    • The Mother That Was – powerful and magnificent
    • The Mother That Is – weakened and suffering
    • The Mother That Will Be – rejuvenated and triumphant
  • These images symbolised India’s past glory, present subjugation, and envisioned future resurgence.

From song to slogan: Birth of a nationalist cry

• By the early 20th century, Vande Mataram transformed from a literary hymn into one of the most powerful rallying cries of India’s nationalist movement.
• Central Role in the Swadeshi and Anti-Partition Movement
  • After Lord Curzon’s 1905 partition of Bengal, the song became the emotional and political heartbeat of mass resistance.
  • It energised:
    • Boycott campaigns
    • Protest marches
    • Newspapers and political groups adopting its name
  • A historic moment came in 1906 at Barisal, where over 10,000 Hindus and Muslims marched together shouting Vande Mataram, demonstrating its early inclusive appeal.
  • Key leaders who popularised it included:
    • Rabindranath Tagore
    • Bipin Chandra Pal
    • Sri Aurobindo, whose writings elevated the phrase into a spiritual and political call for self-rule.
• Colonial Repression Against the Slogan
• Worried by its ability to mobilise masses, the British authorities attempted to suppress it by:
  • Fining students
  • Conducting police lathi-charges
  • Banning public marches
  • Threatening expulsion from schools and colleges
• Across Bengal and the Bombay Presidency, chanting Vande Mataram became an act of bold nationalist defiance.
• Vande Mataram on the Global Stage
  • In 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama unfurled the first Indian tricolour at Stuttgart, with Vande Mataram written across it — marking its symbolic arrival on the international platform.

The song and the Indian National Congress

• The Indian National Congress not only appreciated Vande Mataram culturally but also adopted it formally in its national ceremonies.
• 1896: Tagore’s Iconic Rendition
  • At the Calcutta Congress session, Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram, giving the song national prominence and embedding it in the Congress’s cultural identity.
• 1905: Formal Adoption During the Swadeshi Movement
  • In Varanasi, the Congress formally adopted Vande Mataram for all-India events.
  • This came at the height of the anti-partition protests, when the song had already become the anthem of political awakening throughout the country.
• 1937: Congress Working Committee Removes Later Stanzas
  • By the 1930s, debates over the song’s Hindu goddess imagery became more pronounced.
  • To maintain a broad, inclusive national movement, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided in 1937 to use only the first two stanzas, which were considered free of sectarian symbolism.
  • Muslim leaders had objected to the later stanzas, arguing they evoked explicitly religious imagery inappropriate for a national movement meant to represent all communities.

Constituent Assembly’s Resolution: Equal Status for Vande Mataram (1950)

• In 1950, the Constituent Assembly faced no conflict between Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram when deciding national symbols.
• On January 24, 1950, Assembly President Dr. Rajendra Prasad formally declared:
  • Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem.
  • Vande Mataram, due to its historic significance in the freedom struggle, would receive equal honour and status.
• The announcement was met with applause and no objections from any member.
• This dual recognition balanced inclusivity with historical reverence—preserving national unity through the anthem while enshrining Vande Mataram as a pillar of India’s independence movement.