Vande Mataram the novel containing it was banned by the British government, but workers and general public defied the ban, many went to colonial prisons repeatedly for singing it, and the ban was overturned by the Indians after they gained independence from the colonial rule. In 1950 (after India's independence), the first two verses of the song were declared the "national song" of the Republic of India, distinct from the national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana". The first two verses of the song are an abstract reference to one's mother and motherland, they do not mention any Hindu deity by name,
Jana Gana Mana Video video for the instrumental version of the video. The final instrumental was a 40-piece string section along with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Vikku Vinayakram and other instrumental maestros of Indian classical music. Most of the performances included two generations of maestros - fathers and sons. In Kanika’s words, "It was a huge musical unification... this anthem has so much of soul." It is also notable that during the filming of the anthem with the Ladakh Scouts, there were about 500 jawans who fought during the Kargil war. The producers hoisted a huge flag about 40 feet long for the video