One of the best poems of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, “Bharat Zameen Ka Tukda Nahi” does not see India as just a piece of land but expresses it as a complete nation. This poem gives the best expression of patriotism. While expressing, it expresses the sense of dedication of whole life towards the nation.
India is not a piece of land,
He is a living national man.
Himalaya is the head, Kashmir is the crown,
Punjab and Bengal are two huge shoulders.
The Eastern and the Western Ghats are two huge mountains.
‘Kanyakumari is its feet, the ocean washes its feet.
This is the land of sandalwood, the land of greetings,
This is the land of sacrifice, this is the land of offering.
Its pebble is Shankar,
Its point-point is the water of the Ganges.
we will live for this
Will die for this.
-Atal Bihari Vajpayee
March 3, 2020 – In the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, PM Modi, without naming former PM Manmohan Singh, said that saying ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ to the former prime minister also stinks. At the time of independence, some people in this Congress were against singing Vande Mataram. Now he is also facing difficulty in saying ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
It is worth mentioning here that on 22 February 2020 former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that nationalism and Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans are being misused. This slogan is wrongly being used to project a “fiery and purely emotional image of India” which alienates millions of citizens.
It is worth mentioning here that on January 26, 2020, at the Indian Consulates in New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco, and the Indian Embassy in Washington, protesters chanted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Hindu, Muslim, Sikh” in demonstrations against the citizenship law. Christians raised slogans, all brothers among themselves.
The recently formed Coalition to Stop Genocide organized protests in about 30 US cities. This includes organizations such as the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Equality Labs, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Hindus for Human Rights (HFHR). There was a lot of debate in the Parliament regarding the 1962 war. In those days, the opposition had created a ruckus about Aksai Chin being taken over by China. Jawaharlal Nehru made a statement in the Parliament that even a straw of grass does not grow in Aksai Chin, it is a barren area. In a packed parliament, Mahavir Tyagi showed his bald head to Nehru and said – Nothing grows here too, so should I get it cut or give it to someone else. Think what would have happened to Nehru after hearing the answer of his own cabinet member Mahavir Tyagi?
Nehru ji was also allergic to the word Bharat Mata but not Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1936, Shiv Prasad Gupta built the temple of Bharat Mata in Banaras. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi.
Pandit Nehru used to say that India means that piece of land – if you raise the slogan of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, then you are hailing our natural resources.