India orders ‘Vande Mataram’ played before ‘Jana Gana Mana’ at state functions, schools

The Indian home ministry says all six stanzas of the national song must be played, including four dropped by the Congress party in 1937

India has introduced a new rule requiring the national song “Vande Mataram” to be played before the national anthem “Jana Gana Mana” at all government programmes and in schools, NDTV reports.

In a directive issued on Wednesday morning, the Indian home ministry said everyone present must stand when the national song is played.

The song will now be compulsory at civilian award ceremonies such as the Padma awards, as well as at events attended by the president of India.

According to Indian media reports, it will also be played in public spaces such as cinema halls.

Unlike the national anthem, standing in such venues, however, will not be mandatory.

The ministry has directed that all six stanzas of “Vande Mataram” be performed, including the four verses that were omitted by the Indian National Congress in 1937.

Last month, sources told Indian broadcaster NDTV that the BJP government was planning to apply to “Vande Mataram” the same state protocol that governs the national anthem.

The move was being considered under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, it added.

And, under the law, any person who disrupts, or prevents others from respecting, the national anthem (and now the national song) can be sentenced to a maximum of three years in jail.

ROW

The directive, and the inclusion of the four previously excluded stanzas, is likely to spark controversy, as per NDTV.

Last year, a heated exchange erupted between the ruling BJP and the Congress over the song.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly accused his predecessor Jawaharlal Nehru of following Muhammad Ali Jinnah in opposing the song because it could “irritate Muslims”.

The BJP released letters from Nehru to back its claim, leading to a rancorous parliamentary debate on the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram”.

The omitted stanzas reference three Hindu goddesses, including Durga, adding a political dimension ahead of the Assembly elections in Bengal expected in March or April.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge called it “deeply ironic that those who today claim to be guardians of nationalism never sang Vande Mataram”, NDTV reports.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the BJP in parliament of selectively quoting Nehru, presenting excerpts without context to score political points ahead of next year’s Bengal polls.