The Union Home Ministry has issued comprehensive new guidelines for India’s national song, ‘Vande Mataram,’ mandating that all six stanzas of the hymn be performed at official events and schools. This move reverses a decades-old practice initiated by the Congress in 1937, which restricted the song to its first two stanzas to address concerns from minority communities regarding religious imagery in the later verses.

Key highlights of the MHA directive:

• Protocol: Vande Mataram must be sung or played before the National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana) at all government functions.
• Respect: Attendees are required to stand in attention while the song is being performed.
• Scope: The rules apply to state functions, award ceremonies, and school assemblies. However, standing is not mandatory in movie theatres to avoid disruption.
• Version: The full original version composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, including the stanzas personifying the nation as goddesses, is now officially restored.

The decision has sparked a fierce debate. PM Narendra Modi alleged that the truncation of the song by the Nehru government was an “injustice” that sowed seeds of division. On the other hand, the Congress accused the BJP of creating a “manufactured controversy” for electoral gains. They maintained that the 1937 compromise, suggested by Rabindranath Tagore, was a pluralistic approach to ensure the song remained inclusive in a diverse nation.