The Union Home Ministry has issued detailed guidelines on the observance and rendition of Vande Mataram, stating that members of the public must stand to attention whenever the official version of the National Song is sung or played. An exception has been made for screenings in cinemas during newsreels or documentaries, where standing is not required.
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According to the advisory, the guidelines outline the official version of the National Song and emphasise the need to maintain proper decorum as a mark of respect. When both the National Song and the National Anthem are performed at an event, Vande Mataram is to be rendered first.
The Ministry has also specified that all six stanzas of the composition written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee are to be played, including the four stanzas that were excluded by the Congress in 1937. The song will be performed at civilian award ceremonies, including the Padma awards, and at official events attended by the President, marking the President’s arrival and departure.
The statement further notes that on all occasions where the National Song is sung, the official version should be accompanied by mass singing. Schools have been directed to make adequate provisions in their programmes to popularise the singing of both the National Song and the National Anthem, while also promoting respect for the National Flag among students.
Renewed Focus Amid Political Debate
The guidelines come amid the Centre’s recent efforts to promote Vande Mataram. The song was the subject of intense debate during the Winter Session of Parliament in December 2025, with exchanges between the ruling BJP and the Congress.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in the Lok Sabha, underscored the historical significance of the song in India’s freedom movement. He criticised the Congress for removing what he described as crucial verses, calling it a “division and partition of the song” that, in his view, diluted its original spirit.
“Vande Mataram was divided first, and then the country was divided,” the Prime Minister said, directing criticism at former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress leadership for what he termed a compromise on a national symbol.
Historical Context
Composed in the 1870s in Sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Vande Mataram was first published in his 1882 novel Anandmath. The hymn, which runs approximately three minutes and ten seconds in its full version, became a rallying cry during India’s freedom struggle, symbolising devotion to the motherland.
In 1950, the first two stanzas were formally adopted as India’s National Song. Unlike the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, there had been no formalised protocol governing the singing of Vande Mataram until the issuance of the present guidelines.
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