Vande Mataram: MHA Releases Fresh Guidelines, Six Stanzas Mandatory, To Be Played Before ‘Jana Gana Mana’ — What’s New

New guidelines by the Union Home Ministry require Vande Mataram, which is the national song of India to be played prior to the national anthem Jana Gana Mana at any government occasion and in every school.

Vande Mataram: MHA Releases Fresh Guidelines, Six Stanzas Mandatory, To Be Played Before ‘Jana Gana Mana’ — What’s New

The order also renders it obligatory to all the people present to stand when Vande Mataram is played. Moreover, the song is now to be sung on civilian award ceremonies like the Padma Awards as well as official functions where the President is being received and sent off. It will also be shown in open places such as cinema halls but no one will be obligated to stand up in these places. Markedly, the order stipulates that the complete six stanzas of Vande Mataram should be performed including the four stanzas that were omitted in 1937.

The government has also been reported last month to intend to put Vande Mataram under the same regulation as the national anthem, which would fall under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. According to this law, anyone who so interferes or intercepts other individuals to have respect to the anthem and now national song may be punished to a jail term of up to three years. The new order will draw political controversy as the BJP and the Congress have been at loggerheads over this matter last year. The controversy was revived when the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of not singing the song in order not to offend the Muslims and this claim was supported by BJP that provided the letters of Nehru.

What Is The Issue Of Six Stanzas Mandatory?

The issue of interest is the four stanzas that were deleted by the congress in 1937, which mention Hindu goddesses including Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Leaders in congress have contended that these verses were omitted to make the song inclusive to all the communities. According to BJP, however, the omission was of divisive politics and was a blow to national unity. The congress leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have refuted the fact that the BJP is cherry picking history to serve political interests, especially as the elections in Bengal draw closer. As the 6 lost stanzas are rediscovered, the new principles are expected to rekindle an ancient ideological struggle as to the meaning, the symbolism, and the location of Vande Mataram in contemporary India.

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