Vande Mataram was released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of India's independence from colonial Britain and it also was designed to introduce the western world, particularly the United States, the wonders of modern Indian music and culture. 'Vande Mataram' became a Sanskit rallying cry for freedom in the early 1900s, as Indians protested against the partitioning of Bengal and its use as the title for the first international release by Ar Rahman, one of India's most popular contemporary recordings artists, is appropriate.