Knowledge Nugget: MHA issues first protocol on Vande Mataram — What does it say?

These directives were notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 28, providing a first set of such protocols for the National songs. It takes approximately 3 minutes 10 seconds to sing the six stanzas of the song.

Key takeaways:

1. Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Vande Mataram emerged as a rallying cry during the Swadeshi movement (1905–08), becoming closely associated with the freedom struggle. While the Constituent Assembly accorded the song equal honour and respect alongside the national anthem, there had been no compulsory etiquette, posture, or legal requirement associated with singing or reciting the national song.

2. The first set of protocols by the MHA for singing the National Song was issued to the police chiefs and chief secretaries of states and Union Territories, and directed that six stanzas of it, with a duration of 3 minutes 10 seconds, must be sung on official functions. Whenever the official version of the National Song is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention.

3. It is not expected of the audience to stand when the National song is played  in the course of a newsreel or documentary, as standing is bound to interrupt the exhibition of the film and would create disorder and confusion rather than add to the dignity of the National Song.

4. The directives give the occasions on which the official version of the National Song is to be played:

(i) Civil investiture ceremonies

(ii) On the arrival and departure of the President at formal State functions and other government-organised events

(iii) Immediately before and after the President addresses the nation over All India Radio and television

(iv) On the arrival and departure of Governors or Lieutenant Governors at formal State functions within their respective States/UTs

(v) When the National Flag is brought on parade

The National Song may also be played on other occasions as directed by the Government of India.

5. The official National song shall be played accompanied by mass singing on the occasion of unfurling of the National Flag, on cultural occasions or ceremonial functions other than parades, and on the arrival of the President at any government or public function, among others. The singing of the National Song on such occasions (with or without the accompaniment of instruments) accompanied by mass singing, is desirable.

6. In all schools, the day’s work may begin with the community singing the national song. School authorities should make adequate provision in their programmes for popularising the singing of the National Song, National Anthem, and promoting respect for the National Flag among students.

7. There is no objection to the singing of the National Song accompanied by mass singing so long as it is done with due respect as a salutation to the motherland and proper decorum is maintained.

8. In recent years, several petitions have been filed in courts seeking a framework for the rendition of Vande Mataram and clarity on whether penalties can be imposed under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which was enacted to prevent disrespect for national symbols.

9. The National Anthem enjoys explicit constitutional and statutory protection, unlike the National Song. Article 51A(a) of the Constitution places a fundamental duty on citizens to respect the national anthem, with its recitation and use governed by detailed executive orders issued by the MHA.

10. Under these orders, the government has laid down specific instructions on the playing, singing, and display of the national anthem to ensure it is treated with due respect, including mandatory standing for its full version at official functions and a ban on dramatised or altered versions that may show disrespect.

11. Further, under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian National Anthem or causes disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Vande Mataram at 150

1. In December 2025, Parliament discussed on Vande Mataram for 10 hours on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. The Centre has launched a year-long celebration of Vande Mataram. The first phase was completed in November; the second is scheduled for this month; the third for August 2026; and the fourth for November 2026.

The bronze bust of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay at the Bankim Bhavan Gaveshana Kendra Museum in Kantalpara in North 24 Parganas. (Express photo: Partha Paul)

2. The song, which was partly written in Sanskrit and partly in Bengali, was composed in 1875 and included in Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath in 1881 during its serialisation in the magazine Bangadarshan. During the 1896 Congress session in Calcutta, Rabindranath Tagore set it to tune and sang it for the first time.

3. The widespread use of the song — Vande Mataram means “Mother, I bow to you” — began only after it captured popular imagination during the movement against Lord Curzon’s Partition of Bengal of 1905. It transcended the province, with the use of Sanskrit making it relatable in large parts of the country.

4. Anandamath, published as a book in 1882, tells the story of a rebellion of sanyasis against Muslim conquerors. The song appears in the novel when Mahendra, a householder, meets Bhavananda, a fighting monk, who sings the first few lines.

5. A curious Mahendra then seeks to know who this mother was, but Bhavananda sings the next few lines instead of answering. When a perplexed Mahendra tells the monk he is singing about the country, not a mother, Bhavananda responds, his eyes welling up with tears, “We know no other mother… except the land that gave us birth.”

6. Even as the song acquired rapid popularity because it represented the zeal to free the country, it got mired in controversy. Objections began to emerge from sections of Muslims that it was an invocation to a Hindu goddess.

7. When the question of the choice of the national anthem came before the Constituent Assembly, Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana was chosen over Vande Mataram, with Nehru explaining in a note to the Cabinet on May 21, 1948, that Jana Gana Mana was more amenable to orchestral rendering than Vande Mataram, which was “deeply respected” by Indians.

Post Read Questions

(1) Consider the following statements:

1. Vande Mataram was adopted as India’s National Song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.

2. The song was ardhamagadhi Prakrit by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) None of the above

(2) Which among the following events happened earliest? (UPSC CSE 2018)

(a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj.

(b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neeldarpan.

(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath.

(d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination

(Sources: All 6 stanzas of National Song must before National Anthem when played together, 6 stanzas and 3 minutes 10 seconds: MHA issues first-ever official protocol for Vande Mataram to precede National Anthem, 6 stanzas vs 2 stanzas: Why Vande Mataram’s 150-year journey has iconic, contested legacy, Vande Matarm at 150: Rallying cry of freedom fighters to Sangh favourite, The making of Vande Mataram and its controversial journey thereafter, MHA)

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