Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was a Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India's national song "Vande Mataram". It was originally a Bengali and Sanskrit "stotra" (hymn) portraying India as a mother goddess. The song inspired the activists during the Indian Independence Movement. Chattopadhyay wrote 13 novels. He also wrote several 'serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical articles in Bengali. His works were widely translated into other regional languages of India. 