Mahatma Gandhi on Vande Mataram

“It was an anti-imperialist cry... Vande Mataram had gripped me, and when I first heard it sung, it enthralled me. I associated the purest national spirit with it... Its chosen stanzas are Bengal's gift ... to the whole nation .”

“Bande Mataram, apart from its wonderful associations, expresses the one national wish—the rise of India to her full height. And I should prefer Bande Mataram to Bharat Mata-ki-jai, as it would be a graceful recognition of the intellectual and emotional superiority of Bengal.”