Anandamath
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay · 1838–1894 · India (Bengal)
Originally Anandamath (Bengali)
Why it matters
Ascetic rebels rise against famine and colonial exploitation in Bengal's founding nationalist novel. Its hymn 'Vande Mataram' became independence India's unofficial second national anthem.
At a glance
historical fictionpolitical novelwar novel
Difficulty 5/10medium pace240 pagesOrnate, formal nineteenth-century Bengali prose and dense nationalist rhetoric.
Deep dive
The 1882 novel that gave India 'Vande Mataram' — and the far more complicated, contested politics of the book the hymn came from.
Where to go next
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