2006年VOA标准英语-India's National Song Stirs Controversy

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
02 September 2006

The song that was India's anti-colonial rallying cry, which is 100 years old next Thursday, is at the center of a religious controversy¹.  Muslim leaders are objecting to the song being sung in all schools on its anniversary, saying it comes too close to Hindu deity² worship.  Hindu nationalists say refusal to sing the song displays a lack of patriotism³.

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The Sanskrit-language song Vande Mataram, or I Bow to Thee, Mother, was the rallying cry for Indians during the freedom struggle against British colonial rule.  It was first sung at a Congress Party session in 1905, and although another song was chosen as the national anthem⁴ after independence in 1947, Vande Mataram was given the status of national song.

Earlier this month, the Congress-led government decided⁵ to culminate⁶ yearlong centenary celebrations of the song by asking all schools, including Islamic madrassahs, to sing it on September 7.

But several Muslim leaders objected, saying singing the song violates the tenets of Islam, because in revering⁷ India as a holy goddess, the song has strong connotations of Hindu deity worship.

Abdur Raheem Qureshi, secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Board, says singing the song is not a yardstick⁸ of patriotism, and Muslims cannot be expected to go against their faith. 

"This was not written for the motherland or for India, this was written in praise of Kali, who is a deity worshipped by Hindus, and we do not believe in worshipping various deities⁹, we believe in worshipping the creator only," he said.

The government quickly backed down, and said the singing of the song next Thursday would be voluntary.

That only added fuel to the controversy.  The Hindu nationalists of the Bharatiya Janata Party replied that refusal to sing the song would show disrespect to a vibrant¹⁰ national symbol.

"The point is of respect to a national symbol," says Ravi Shankar Prasad, a senior BJP leader.  "You cannot even sing for two minutes for one day, for a song which has been the beacon¹¹ of Indian freedom movement, for a song which was given the national anthem status, and a song which is sung on the conclusion of Indian Parliament in every session.  That is the larger issue."

The BJP is accusing the government of pandering¹² to Muslims, who make up about 13 percent of the predominantly Hindu nation's population.

The Hindu nationalists says the five states they control will make the singing of Vande Mataram mandatory¹³ on September 7 in schools and Islamic madrassahs, and say they will take action against those who disobey. 

The controversy has sparked a debate on patriotism, nationalism and faith among ordinary Indians. Ironically, the most popular rendition of the song was set to modern music in 1996 by a well-known Muslim composer, AR Rehman.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

3 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

4 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

7 revering   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It contains Abundant revering the ethics theory in the Confucius theory of goodness. 孔子的仁学中，氤氲着丰厚的敬畏伦理思想。 来自互联网

8 yardstick   

n.计算标准，尺度；评价标准

参考例句：

• This is a yardstick for measuring whether a person is really progressive.这是衡量一个人是否真正进步的标准。
• She was a yardstick against which I could measure my achievements.她是一个我可以用来衡量我的成就的准绳。

9 deities   

n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明

参考例句：

• Zeus and Aphrodite were ancient Greek deities. 宙斯和阿佛洛狄是古希腊的神。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Taoist Wang hesitated occasionally about these transactions for fearof offending the deities. 道士也有过犹豫，怕这样会得罪了神。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

10 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

11 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

12 pandering   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的现在分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• This magazine is criticized for pandering to the vulgar taste of some readers. 这家杂志因迎合某些读者的低级趣味而遭到批评。 来自辞典例句
• We're four points up there; we don't need to get hit for pandering. 我们在那儿领先四个百分点；我们不必为了迎合一些选民而遭受批评。 来自电影对白

13 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。