Vande Mataram centenary observed in Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 7 (UNI) Vande Mataram, penned by Bankimchandra Chaterjee to salute Mother India was sung by political parties, students and people from all walks of life in Mumbai to mark the centenary of its adoption by the Congress as a national song.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh joined the centenary celebration at the Congress office in Tilak Bhavan, central Mumbai along with state unit president Prabha Rau, Rehabilitation minister Patangrao Kadam, Parliamentary Affairs minister Harshvardhan Patil and others. AICC general secretary Margaret Alva was also present.

Maharashtra Pradesh Seva Dal president Chandrakant Dayama organised the singing of Vande Mataram which was followed by flag hoisting.

The state Congress also used the occasion to hand over keys of Bolero cars to 37 district congress presidents.

The Sthanik Lokadhikar Samiti, an organisation affiliated to the Shiv Sena which is involved in ensuring jobs for locals, organised singing of Vande Mataram at Hutatma Chowk in South Mumbai. Head of Samiti and MLA Gajanan Kirtikar was present on the occasion.

Shiv Sena also organised mass singing of the song in all its 'shakhas' across Mumbai.

Mumbai Mayor Datta Dalvi invited school children from civic as well as private schools to the Mayor bungalow in central Mumbai for recital of the song.

Vande Mataram was also sung in most schools including Urdu medium schools in different parts of the city. In Malad, situated in North Mumbai, a madarasa called 'Minhas' also celebrated the centenary of Vande Mataram by singing it.

In some Urdu schools instead of Vande Mataram, 'Sare jahaan se acchaa' was sung. Meanwhile, there was no effect of the appeal made by Muslim religious scholars to parents not to send their children to schools today, while Vande Mataram was being be sung. The attendance in Urdu schools was as usual but plain clothes policemen were seen outside few Urdu schools in Nagpada.

Fayza Feroz Ansari, student of standard V of Anjuman girls urdu high school at Nagpada said there was nothing wrong in reciting Vande Mataram and her parents had insisted and instructed her to sing the song in School. ''They also told me that if the school authorities do not sing, I should do so independently. I sang Vande Mataram along with other school friends this morning,'' she said.

Adwait Shirke, a class X student of Yashodam high school in Goregaon said Vande Mataram is sung in his school every day and it was sung today in usual manner by all the students.

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