An ode to the Motherland, in the novel Anandmath, it was written in Bengali language. The word 'Vande Mataram' means 'I thank you, Mother' or 'I honor you, Father.' In later verses of the song, the "mother goddess" was interpreted as the people's motherland-Banga Mata (Mother Bengal) and Bharat Mata (Mother India), although this is not specifically stated in the text.
It played a critical role in the Indian independence movement, which was first sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the Indian National Congress session of 1896 in a political context. In 1905 it became a popular marching song for political activism and indigenous freedom movement. Spiritual Indian nationalist and philosopher Sri Aurobindo called it "Bengal National Hymn." The British government outlawed the song and the novel containing it, but staff and the general public resisted the ban, many went regularly to colonial jails for singing it, and the ban was repealed by the Indians after they won freedom from the colonial rule.
The Constituent Assembly of India adopted "Vande Mataram" as its national song on 24 January 1950. On the occasion, India's first president, Rajendra Prasad, said the song should be honored equally with India's national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana," but there is no mention of "country song" in India's constitution.The first two verses of the song are an abstract reference to mother and motherland, they do not mention by name any Hindu deity, unlike later verses which mention goddesses such as Durga. There is no time limit or circumstantial specification for the interpretation of this song unlike the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" which specifies 52 seconds.