The 'mother goddess' in later verses of the song has been interpreted as the motherland of the people – (Mother Bengal) and (Mother India), though the text does not mention this explicitly. It played a vital role in the, first sung in a political context by at the 1896 session of the. It became a popular marching song for political activism and Indian freedom movement in 1905. Spiritual Indian nationalist and philosopher Sri Aurobindo referred it as 'National Anthem of '.