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 (film) Jana Gana Mana (film) Jana Gana Mana is a 2012 Indian Marathi film directed by Amit Abhyankar. and written by Sameer Joshi. In a tribal village of Maharashtra is a school which is a part of ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan’ (Education for All) run by the government. Ramchandra Sontakke (Nandu Madhav) is the sole teacher in the school. Sontakke is a romantic; he wants to build a nation of educated kids but is in for a shock when he realizes that the handful of kids who attend his school come basically for the free mid day meal rather than to study.