Students, enthusiasts celebrate Vande Mataram's centenary

Bangalore, Sep 7 (UNI) Spirited rendition of 'Vande Mataram' by thousands of people, including students and enthusiasts, in Karnataka marked the centenary of the national song today.

Though the Karnataka Government had not made rendition of the song mandatory in schools and colleges, students of almost all the government institutions and a majority of the private schools sang the song with patriotic fervour at the stroke of 1100. However, some minority institutions chose not to impose it on its students.

On the political front, no party, barring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), organised functions to mark the occasion.

In the city, the BJP workers converged in large numbers in front of the Town Hall in the city and sang 'Vande Mataram.' Similarly BJP workers across the state celebrated the song's centenary. However, its ruling coalition partner in the state, Janata Dal (Secular), had not taken any measures to make it a memorable day.

However, the Congress, whose leaders had been inspired by the patriotic song penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay during the struggle for freedom, also did not organise any function to mark the occasion.

When contacted by UNI, a senior Congress functionary said the party's state unit had not received any communication from the party high command on the issue.

UNI MV RG VD PC1722