Why in the news?
- The family of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, author of Vande Mataram, recently praised the Prime Minister for commemorating the 150 years of the national song.
About Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
- Born: 27 June 1838, Kantalpara, 24 Parganas (Bengal Presidency)
- Died: 8 April 1894
- Also known as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
- Regarded as “Sahitya Samrat” (Emperor of Literature) of Bengali literature.
- One of the first two graduates of the University of Calcutta; later obtained a law degree.
- Served in the British Indian government.
Literary Contributions
Early Works
- Began as a poet, later shifted to fiction.
- First Novel: Durgeshnandini (1865) – first Bengali romance.
Major Works
- Kapalkundala (1866), Mrinalini (1869), Vishbriksha (1873), Chandrasekhar (1877), Rajani (1877), Rajsimha (1881) and Devi Chaudhurani (1884)
Most Famous Work
- Anand Math (1882)
- Based on the Sannyasi Rebellion (late 18th century).
- Contains “Vande Mataram”, later adopted as the national song.
Vande Mataram
- Written in Sanskrit.
- First sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress.
- Adopted as the National Song on 24 January 1950 by the Constituent Assembly.
- Symbol of Indian nationalism and anti-colonial struggle.
| With reference to the book “Desher Katha” written by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar during the freedom struggle, consider the follow-ing statements: (2020)
(1) It warned against the Colonial State’s hypnotic conquest of the mind. (2) It inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs. (3) The use of ‘desh’ by Deuskar was in the specific context of the region of Bengal. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 |
