India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
President Droupadi Murmu has given assent to the Vande Mataram Bill, bringing the national song within the same legal protection framework that already applies to the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The assent means the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by Parliament last month, has now become law.
The amendment changes the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, to make it an offence to intentionally prevent the singing of Vande Mataram or disturb an assembly engaged in singing it. Such offences can now attract imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both.
President Droupadi Murmu assented to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, extending the 1971 Act’s protection against disruption to the national song Vande Mataram, similar to the national anthem, with penalties up to three years imprisonment for intentional offences.
What changes under the Vande Mataram law
Before this amendment, the 1971 Act specifically covered insults to the national flag, the Constitution and certain conduct relating to the national anthem. It prohibited intentionally preventing the singing of Jana Gana Mana or causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in singing it. The same statutory wording did not apply to the national song.
The new law closes that gap by including Vande Mataram within the ambit of Section 3 of the Act. The government’s stated reasoning was that while Vande Mataram is honoured as the national song, there was no specific legal provision dealing with intentional obstruction of its singing.
The Bill had said that the amendment was proposed “to prohibit any person from intentionally preventing the singing of the national song or causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing”. It places such conduct in the same punishment bracket as offences linked to the national anthem.
Under the existing law, a second and every subsequent conviction for such offences relating to the national anthem attracted a minimum imprisonment of one year. The amendment gives Vande Mataram similar statutory recognition for the specific act of intentional disruption, rather than creating a broader obligation to sing it.
Why Vande Mataram holds constitutional significance
Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, has long occupied a prominent place in India’s national movement. It became a powerful slogan during the freedom struggle and was widely associated with anti-colonial mobilisation. Its status was discussed in the Constituent Assembly as India prepared to adopt the Constitution.
On January 24, 1950, Dr Rajendra Prasad, then president of the Constituent Assembly, stated that Vande Mataram would be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and would have equal status with it. Jana Gana Mana later became the national anthem, while Vande Mataram was recognised as the national song.
The amendment relies on this historical position to justify legal parity in a narrow area of protection. It does not alter the designation of either composition. Jana Gana Mana remains the national anthem, and Vande Mataram remains the national song, but both now receive statutory protection against intentional disruption during singing.
The move is likely to draw attention to the distinction between respect for national symbols and compulsory participation. Courts in India have previously examined questions around national symbols, individual freedoms and public conduct. The new provision is focused on preventing deliberate obstruction, not on penalising silence or non-participation by itself.
Home Ministry protocol for official functions
The President’s assent follows a separate set of directions issued by the Union Home Ministry earlier this year on the singing of Vande Mataram at official functions. In an order dated January 28, the ministry laid down protocols for the national song when it is sung or played with the national anthem.
The order directed that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, with a duration of three minutes and 10 seconds, shall be sung at official functions such as the arrival of the President, unfurling of the national flag and speeches by governors. It also said the assembly must stand in attention when the national song is sung.
One of the key directions states that when both the national song and the national anthem are sung or played, Vande Mataram will be sung or played first. The ministry also said that, in schools, the day’s work shall begin with community singing of the national song.
The Home Ministry has also said that Vande Mataram will be sung from the ramparts of the Red Fort during the Independence Day function this year for the first time. That makes the amendment part of a wider official effort to formalise the public protocol around the national song.
What citizens and institutions should know
For public institutions, schools and organisers of official events, the change makes compliance with national song protocol more consequential. Assemblies where Vande Mataram is sung will now be covered by the same anti-disruption protection that applies to the national anthem under the national honour law.
For citizens, the key point is the nature of the offence. The law targets intentional prevention of singing or disturbance of an assembly engaged in singing. It does not, based on the amendment’s stated purpose, create a general criminal offence for not singing the national song.
The practical impact will depend on how authorities implement the amended Act and how courts interpret complaints under it. Since the punishment can extend to three years in prison, enforcement will require careful scrutiny of intent, context and the nature of the alleged disruption.
