Targeting the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that “important stanzas” of the national song Vande Mataram were dropped in 1937 which “sowed the seeds of Partition”, and that “divisive mindset” is still a challenge for the country.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram was composed in 1875 and published as part of his novel Anandamath in 1882. In October 1937, the Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas of the song.

Speaking in the Capital at an event to kick off the year-long commemoration of Vande Mataram, marking its 150 years, Modi said, “Azadi ki ladai mei Vande Mataram ki bhavna ne poore rashtra ko prakashit kiya thha. Lekin durbhagya se, 1937 mei, Vande Mataram ke mahatvapoorn padon ko, uski aatma ke ek hisse ko alag kar diya gaya thha. Va

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