News: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued new guidelines mandating that all six stanzas of the National Song be performed and that Vande Mataram should be sung or played before the National Anthem when both are played.
About MHA Guidelines on Vande Mataram
- Order of Playing with National Anthem: When both Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana are played at an event, Vande Mataram should be sung or played before Jana Gana Mana.
- The audience shall stand when the official version of the national song is played, except when it appears in a newsreel or documentary, where standing is not required.
- Occasions for Playing/Singing
- The national song is to be sung or played on the arrival and departure of the President at formal State functions and other government-organized events.
- It is also to be sung immediately before and after the President addresses the nation over All India Radio and television.
- It should also be played on the arrival and departure of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor at formal State functions, when the national flag is brought on parade.
- The official version of the national song should be played along with mass singing during the unfurling of the national flag and at cultural or ceremonial functions other than parades.
- The Government of India may direct the performance of the National Song on additional occasions as required by special orders of the Government of India.
- The Ministry has stated that on all specified occasions, the full six-stanza official version of Vande Mataram must be used, and collective singing should be encouraged wherever feasible.
- Band Performance Protocol: When the national song is played by a band, it should be preceded by a roll of drums to alert the audience that it is about to be played, unless another specific indication is given.
- A suitably trained choir of adequate size should coordinate its singing with the band, and an adequate public address system should be arranged.
- In schools, the day’s work may begin with community singing of the national song.
- School authorities should make adequate arrangements to popularize the singing of the national song and the national anthem.
- Constitutional and legal Framework
- On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly adopted the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the National Song of India.
- The Constitution of India does not mention the term “National Song.” Its status is based on the resolution and established governmental practice, not on a constitutional provision.
- Article 51A(a) (Fundamental Duties) requires every citizen to respect the Constitution, the National Flag and the National Anthem. It does not mention the National Song.
- There is no specific constitutional provision granting protection or defining the status of Vande Mataram, unlike the National Anthem.
About National Song (Vande Mataram)
- Composition: It was originally composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterjee and included in his novel Anand Math (1882).
- First Sung: The song was first sung at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta by Rabindranath Tagore.
- Adoption: On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly officially adopted it as the National Song of India.
- Official Version Duration: The official version of Vande Mataram has a duration of approximately three minutes and ten seconds.
- Total Stanzas: The complete song contains six stanzas.
