The central government has decided to grant Vande Mataram status equal to the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’. The decision was taken during the first Cabinet meeting chaired by Narendra Modi following the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The Cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. Under the decision, the same rules and restrictions that apply to the national anthem will now extend to Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. This means that insulting it or disrupting its singing could attract legal penalties. At present, the law provides for imprisonment, a fine, or both for insulting the national flag, the Constitution, or the national anthem. With this amendment, Vande Mataram will also be brought under the same legal protections. Changes in law and provision for punishment The government is making this change on the occasion of 150 years of Vande Mataram. For this, Section 3 of the law will be amended. According to this section, if any person deliberately obstructs or prevents the singing of the national anthem, they can face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine or both. For repeat offenses, there is a provision for a minimum sentence of one year. After the amendment, the same rules will apply to Vande Mataram as well. Government has issued guidelines The Central Government on Wednesday issued guidelines for the official protocol for singing India’s National Song Vande Mataram. According to the guidelines, the complete official version of Vande Mataram, which has six stanzas and lasts approximately 3 minutes and 10 seconds, should be presented or played during major state ceremonies. These include national flag hoisting, ceremonial arrival and departure ceremonies at official events of the President and Governors, and events before and after their scheduled speeches at such ceremonies. First the ‘National Song’ will be sung and then the ‘National Anthem’ If both ‘Vande Mataram’ and the ‘National Anthem’ are to be performed at an event, then ‘Vande Mataram’ (National Song) will be sung first followed by the ‘National Anthem’. The guidelines further clarify that the audience is expected to stand at attention during both performances as a mark of respect. Request to promote singing of Vande Mataram The Home Ministry has also urged the promotion of singing Vande Mataram during school-college and important institutional programs. The objective of this step is to encourage awareness and respect for national symbols among students and the general public. It has also been stated that when Vande Mataram is performed by a band, it should be formally preceded by the sound of drums or bugles to signal the beginning of the singing. Exemption for cinema halls and film screenings Additionally, the ministry has provided specific exemptions for cinema halls and film screenings. According to the directive, when Vande Mataram is played as part of a film’s soundtrack, audiences will not be required to stand, as forcing audiences to stand in entertainment venues may disrupt the viewing experience and potentially create confusion among viewers. ‘Vande Mataram’ becomes major political issue in elections At the conclusion of the Budget Session, all six stanzas of Vande Mataram were recited in both houses of Parliament. During the West Bengal elections, the BJP presented Vande Mataram as a symbol of Bengali identity and nationalism. The party organized mass singing and padyatras (foot marches) across the state to mark its 150th anniversary. Additionally, the legacy of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was also prominently highlighted in the election campaign. Bankim Chandra wrote it in 1875, it was published in Anandamath India’s national song Vande Mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee on November 7, 1875, on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Navami. It was first published in 1882 in his magazine Bangadarshan as part of his novel Anandamath. In 1896, Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram on stage at the Indian National Congress session. This was the first time this song was sung publicly at a national level. Thousands of people present in the assembly had tears in their eyes. ‘Vande Mataram’ is a Sanskrit phrase, which means – O Mother, I bow to you. During the freedom struggle, ‘Vande Mataram’ had become the slogan of freedom fighters who were struggling to free India from colonial rule. The Central Government has issued new guidelines regarding the national song ‘Vande Mataram’. The Home Ministry has said in the order that now ‘Vande Mataram’ will be played at government programs, schools or other formal events. During this time, it will be mandatory for every person to stand. This order was issued on January 28, but the information came in the media on February 11. Vande Mataram tableau was featured in the Republic Day parade This year, on the 77th Republic Day, the theme of the main parade on Kartavya Path in Delhi was kept as Vande Mataram. The Ministry of Culture presented a tableau celebrating 150 years of Vande Mataram in the parade. This tableau received the award for Best Tableau in the ministries and departments category. The Ministry of Culture’s tableau based on the theme ‘Vande Mataram: A Call of the Nation’s Soul’ depicted the composition of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s song, its recording during the colonial period by a famous Marathi singer, and its rendition by a group representing Gen Z. The front part of the tableau showed the manuscript of Vande Mataram being created. In its lower section, an image of Chatterjee was displayed on a panel. The middle section featured a group of artists in traditional attire representing India’s folk diversity. A controversy arose during the Winter Session The central government had organized a special discussion during the winter session of Parliament last year on the completion of 150 years of Vande Mataram. There was significant uproar in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on this issue. Congress alleged that the government was making the national song an issue in view of the upcoming elections in West Bengal. Meanwhile, BJP had accused Congress of cutting parts of Vande Mataram under the politics of appeasement. BJP had shared a letter from 1937 written by the country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru to Subhas Chandra Bose. BJP had alleged that in the letter, Nehru had indicated that some lines of Vande Mataram could make Muslims uncomfortable. During the debate in Parliament, former BJP president JP Nadda had said that the national song should also be given the same status as the national anthem and national flag. PM Modi: Congress fragmented Vande Mataram (8 December 2025) PM Modi had initiated the debate on Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha. In his one-hour speech, he said, ‘Congress bowed down before the Muslim League and divided Vande Mataram into pieces. Nehru felt that this could hurt Muslims.’ The PM said, ‘Why was there betrayal with Vande Mataram. What was that power whose wish prevailed even over revered Bapu’s sentiments. PM Modi said Vande Mataram 121 times in his one-hour speech.’ Why were four stanzas of Vande Mataram removed? According to Sabyasachi Bhattacharya’s book ‘Vande Mataram: The Biography of a Song’, in a letter written to Subhas Chandra Bose on October 20, 1937, Nehru wrote that the background and language of Vande Mataram makes Muslims uncomfortable and its language is so difficult that it is hard to understand without a dictionary. At that time, communal tension was rising in the country over Vande Mataram. Jawaharlal Nehru felt this controversy was part of an organized conspiracy. On this very issue, he also wrote about seeking advice from Rabindranath Tagore. On October 22, 1937, the Congress Working Committee decided to remove four paragraphs out of the six paragraphs of the original song. This meeting was attended by several senior leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu.
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