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Issuing the latest guidelines, the Home Ministry said that on all occasions when the National Song is sung, the official version shall be recited accompanied by mass singing.
Home Ministry issued new guidelines for ‘Vande Mataram’. (Image: File Pic)
In the latest guidelines issued regarding ‘Vande Mataram’, the Union Home Ministry said that whenever the official version of the National Song is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention. However, it is not expected of the audience to stand in cinemas, in the course of a newsreel or documentary.
In addition to this, it has also been stated that when the National Song and the National Anthem are sung, the National Song will be sung first.
The ministry issued guidance on the official version of the National Song and about the need to pay respect to the song by observance of proper decorum.
As per the guidelines, all six stanzas of the National Song, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, including the four removed by the Congress in 1937, will be played.
‘Vande Mataram’ will also be played at civilian awards ceremonies, like the Padma awards, and all other events attended by the President, i.e., during their arrival and departure.
On all occasions when the National Song is sung, the official version shall be recited accompanied by mass singing, the statement read.
It further instructed the school authorities to 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.
The move comes amid the central government’s recent push to popularise ‘Vande Mataram’. Notably, the Parliament witnessed a massive debate over the song last year between the ruling BJP and the Congress.
The Vande Mataram Row
Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in Sanskritised Bengali in the 1870s, the 3 minutes 10 seconds song was first adopted by the freedom movement to praise the motherland. Unlike Jana Gana Mana, there was no official protocol followed before singing Vande Mataram till now.
The six-stanza hymn, first published in his 1882 novel ‘Anandmath’, was ‘Vande Mataram’. Later in 1950, the first two stanzas of the song were adopted as India’s national song.
During the debate during the winter session of Parliament in December 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the debate in the Lok Sabha and highlighted the song’s origins and its role in the freedom struggle, accusing Congress of betraying and sabotaging the song by removing crucial verses.
Terming it as a “division and partition of the song”, PM Modi argued that it weakened the original intent of the composition and caused Partition.
“Vande Mataram was divided first, and then the country was divided,” PM Modi said, slamming his predecessor, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Congress leadership for compromising on a national symbol.
February 11, 2026, 08:34 IST
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