If you are going to attend any government program, then it is very important for you to know the new rules of national song and presentation of national anthem. Issuing an important guideline, the Central Government has made it clear to all the States, Union Territories and Central Ministries as to what will be the order of singing or playing of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jana Gana Mana’ in government functions. According to the new order of the Home Ministry, now it will be mandatory to present ‘Vande Mataram’ first and then ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
It is mandatory to follow the protocol
The Home Ministry has sent letters to the Chief Secretaries and Central Secretaries of all the states asking them to strictly follow these instructions. The Ministry’s emphasis is on the fact that while presenting these two, full care should be taken to use correct words, correct script and correct pronunciation. As per the protocol already in place, only the official six-part version of the national anthem will be sung or played, the total duration of which is set to be approximately 3 minutes 10 seconds. The government wants that there should be respect and uniformity towards these national symbols on every government platform.
Now will strict action be taken against those who insult?
Not only this, the Central Government is now preparing to make a major amendment in the ‘Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971’. Till now, under this law, only insulting the national anthem, national flag and the Constitution was a punishable offence, punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or fine. After the proposed change, insulting ‘Vande Mataram’ or obstructing its singing will also become a legal offence. There is discussion that the government may present this amendment bill in the Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session. If this law is made, then the national song will also get the same legal protection as the national anthem.
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