Anandamath

Anandamath (Bengali: আনন্দমঠ [ˈanonˌdomɔʈʰ]; lit. 'The Abbey of Bliss' or 'The Monastery of the Ānandas') is a Bengali Indian-nationalist historical novel, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1882. It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi rebellion and Great Bengal famine of 1770. It is considered one of the most important novels in the history of Bengali and Indian literature. The novel holds pro-British sentiments, and argues that the British rulers are the savior of India and Indians cannot overcome arrogance without the British rule. The novel has been also noted to have included anti-Muslim bias, on which M. R. A. Baig commented; "If the book is anti-Muslim, which it is, it was because the Hindus of that period were anti-Muslim. Bankim Chatterji was a novelist; not a propagandist." Vande Mataram (lit. 'Hail to the Motherland'), the first song to represent India as the Motherland, was published in this novel. After India gained independence in 1947, it was adopted as the national song of the Republic of India in 1950.