We accept death, but 'shirk' we will not, says Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president as 'Vande Mataram' debate heats up

Invoking Articles 19 and 25 of the Constitution, Maulana Arshad Madani asserts that no citizen can be forced to chant anything violating their conscience

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani has sparked off a fresh debate on Vande Mataram even as Parliament is having a discussion on 150 years of the national song.

In a statement on X, Madani said on Tuesday that Muslims have no objection to others reciting the national song, but cannot themselves join because parts of it conflict with Islamic belief.

He argued that four stanzas personify the motherland as “Durga Mata” and include devotional lines meaning “Mother, I worship you”, which, he said, amounts to shirk — considered the gravest sin in Islam of associating partners with Allah.

Invoking Articles 19 and 25 of the Constitution, Madani asserted that no citizen can be forced to chant anything violating their conscience. He distinguished patriotism from worship, stressing that Muslims’ loyalty to India is unquestionable and reflected in their sacrifices during the freedom struggle. “We accept death, but shirk we will never accept," he declared.

Madani’s remarks came as Parliament is seeing a heated debate on the song.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the discussion in the Lok Sabha with a sharp attack on the Congress. He accused the party of committing a “historic sin” in 1937 by restricting the song to two stanzas under “Muslim League pressure”, claiming that the move weakened national unity and sowed the early seeds of Partition. He urged for full recitation as a reaffirmation of national pride. Senior BJP leaders such as Rajnath Singh, Anurag Thakur, and Shahnawaz Hussain backed his stance and demanded constitutional parity for 'Vande Mataram' with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.

The Congress countered that the 1937 decision was intended to maintain communal harmony and accused the BJP of using the debate to polarise voters ahead of the West Bengal elections.

Into the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Home Minister Amit Shah hailed 'Vande Mataram' as “India’s rebirth mantra”, prompting fierce pushback and repeated disruptions from the Opposition.