The concept of Bharat Mata as the personification of the Indian subcontinent came into existence starting in the late 19th century, especially after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British. Bharat Mata as a concept was first perceived to be an image of the land of India as depicted by Bankimchandra Chatterjee in his book Anand Math in 1882.
Historic perspective
The image of Bhāratmātā formed with the Indian independence movement of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Bannerjee, Bhārat Mātā, was first performed in 1873. The play, set during the 1770 Bengal famine, depicts a woman and her husband who go to the forest and encounter rebels. A priest takes them to a temple where they are shown Bharat Mata. Thus they are inspired and lead a rebellion which results in the defeat of the British. The Manushi magazine story traces origin to a satirical work Unabimsa Purana or The Nineteenth Purana by Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay which was first published anonymously in 1866. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882 wrote a novel Anandamath and introduced the hymn "Vande Mātaram", which soon became the song of the emerging freedom movement in India. As the British Raj created cartographic shape of India through the Geological Survey of India, the Indian nationalist developed it into an icon of nationalism. In 1920s, it became more political image sometimes including images of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh. The Tiranga flag was also started being included during this period. In 1930s, the image entered in religious practice. The Bharat Mata temple was built in Benaras in 1936 by Shiv Prashad Gupt and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. This temple does not have any statuary but only a marble relief of the map of India.Bipin Chandra Pal elaborated its meaning in idealizing and idealist terms, along with Hindu philosophical traditions and devotional practices. It represented an archaic spiritual essence, a transcendental idea of Universe as well as expressing Universal Hinduism and nationhood. Abanindranath Tagore portrayed Bhārat Mātā as a four-armed Hindu goddess wearing saffron-colored robes, holding the manuscripts, sheaves of rice, a mala, and a white cloth. The image of Bharatmata was an icon to create nationalist feeling in Indians during the freedom struggle. Sister Nivedita, an admirer of the painting, opined that the picture was refined and imaginative, with Bharatmata standing on green earth and blue sky behind her; feet with four lotuses, four arms meaning divine power; white halo and sincere eyes; and gifts Shiksha-Diksha-Anna-Bastra of the motherland to her children. at Bharat Mata Mandir, Varanasi Indian Independence activistSubramania Bharati saw Bharat Mata as the land of Ganga. He identified Bharat Mata as Parashakti. He also says that he has got the Darśana of Bharat Mata during his visit with his guru Sister Nivedita.
Significance
In the book Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right in India, Kalyani Devaki Menon argues that "the vision of India as Bharat Mata has profound implications for the politics of Hindu nationalism" and that the depiction of India as a Hindu goddess implies that it is not just the patriotic but also the religious duty of all Hindus to participate in the nationalist struggle to defend the nation. This association has caused controversy with devout Muslims, whose belief in the oneness of God keeps them from assigning divinity to any god other than Allah. However, muslims of muslim majority Bangadesh, specially the Bengladeshi nationalists, revere the similar personification of Bangladesh as Bangamata. |alt=|leftThe motto Bharat Mata ki Jai’ is used by the Indian Army. Muslims majority Indonesia's several dozen national armed units also use hindu-originsanskrit language mottoes, including the National Armed Forces, Army, Navy, for example the Indonesian Air Force's motto Swabhuana Paksa and the Indonesian National Police's motto Rastra Sewakottama or "राष्ट्र सेवकोत्तम".
The Bharat Mata temple is located in the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth campus in Varanasi. The temple houses a marble idol of Bharat Mata along with a marble relief map of India. The Temple, a gift from the nationalists Shiv Prasad Gupta and Durga Prasad Khatri, was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936. Mahatma Gandhi said, "I hope this temple, which will serve as a cosmopolitan platform for people of all religions, castes, and creeds including Harijans, will go a great way in promoting religious unity, peace, and love in the country."
The temple is located in Michael Nagar on Jessore Road, barely 2 km away from the Kolkata Airport. Here, Bharat Mata is portrayed through the image of "Jagattarini Durga". This was inaugurated on October 19, 2015 by Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi, the Governor of West Bengal. The initiative to build the temple, which has been named Jatiya Shaktipeeth, was taken by the Spiritual Society of India in order to mark the 140th Anniversary of "Vande Mataram", the hymn to the Mother Land.
