MHA issues guidelines on singing ‘Vande Mataram’

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued new guidelines on singing the National Song ‘Vande Mataram’.

• In an order dated January 28, the ministry gave the first set of protocols for singing the National Song.

What are the MHA guidelines on singing of Vande Mataram?

• According to the guidelines, if both the National Anthem and ‘Vande Mataram’ are sung at the same event, the National Song will be played first. 

• All six stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ will be played at official functions. 

• The total duration for the singing of the song has been set at 190 seconds. 

The official version of the National Song shall be played on the following occasions:

i) Civil Investitures.

ii) On arrival of the President at formal State functions and other functions organised by the government and on his departure from such functions.

iii) Immediately before and after the President addresses the Nation over All India Radio and Television.

iv) On arrival of the Governor/Lieutenant Governor at formal State functions within his State/Union Territory and on his departure from such functions.

v) When the National Flag is brought on parade.

• On all occasions when the National Song is sung, the official version shall be recited accompanied by mass singing.

• Whenever the official version of the National Song is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention. 

• However, when in the course of a newsreel or documentary the National Song is played as a part of the film, it is not expected of the audience to stand as standing is bound to interrupt the exhibition of the film and would create disorder and confusion rather than add to the dignity of the National Song.

• In all schools, the day’s work may begin with community singing of the National Song.

Important points on Vande Mataram

• Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, ‘Vande Mataram’ — which translates to “Mother, I Bow to Thee” — was first published in the literary journal ‘Bangadarshan’ on November 7, 1875. 

• Later, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee incorporated the hymn in his novel ‘Anandamath’. 

• ‘Vande Mataram’ was sung at the 1896 session of the Congress by Rabindranath Tagore.

• This composition, an enduring anthem, has inspired countless generations of freedom fighters and nation builders, standing as a lasting emblem of India’s national identity and collective spirit. 

National Song

• On January 24, 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad addressed the Constituent Assembly, stating that ‘Vande Mataram’, due to its significant role in the freedom movement, should have the same status as the National Anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, and be honored equally. 

• His statement was adopted with Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ being adopted as the National Anthem of independent India, and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s ‘Vande Mataram’ being adopted as the National Song.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-1894) was one of the most prominent figures of 19th-century Bengal. 

• He holds a pivotal role in the intellectual and literary history of Bengal during the 19th century. 

• As a distinguished novelist, poet, and essayist, his contributions significantly influenced the development of modern Bengali prose and the articulation of an emerging Indian nationalism.

• His notable works, including ‘Anandamath’ (1882), ‘Durgeshnandini’ (1865), ‘Kapalkundala’ (1866), and ‘Devi Chaudhurani’ (1884), reflect the social, cultural, and moral concerns of a colonised society striving for self-identity.

• The composition of ‘Vande Mataram’, is recognised as a milestone in nationalist thought, symbolising the synthesis of devotion to the motherland and spiritual idealism. 

• ‘Anandamath’ was serialised in the Bengali monthly magazine ‘Bangadarshan’, of which Chatterjee was the founder editor.

• The song ‘Vande Mataram’ appeared in the very first instalment of the serialisation of the novel in the March-April 1881 issue.

• The central plot of the novel ‘Anandamath’ revolves around a group of Sanyasins known as Santanas (meaning children), who dedicate their lives to the cause of their motherland. They venerate the motherland personified as the mother goddess. Their devotion is solely to their land of birth. 

• It stood as the symbol of the “religion of patriotism” that was the central theme of ‘Anandamath’.

• Through his writings, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee not only enriched Bengali literature but also laid the foundational ideological principles for India’s early nationalist movement.