Vande Mataram bill 2026

 

Vande Mataram’s insult to soon be punishable offence as Amit Shah set to table Bill



same statutory protection as the national anthem



The bill seeks to give 'Vande Mataram', the national song, the same statutory protection as the national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana'.


The Centre  intends to bring a bill in the Rajya Sabha to make 

  • any obstruction 
  • insult to the national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence on Monday, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.




The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026


 has been listed in the agenda of the Rajya Sabha for Monday, with Home Minister Amit Shah set to introduce the bill.


The bill will amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971,


 which makes desecration of or disrespect toward the country’s national symbols including the 

  • national flag, 
  • Constitution,
  • national anthem a criminal offence, carrying a punishment of up to three years’ imprisonment.



same statutory protection


 

The bill seeks to give ‘Vande Mataram’, the national song, the same statutory protection as the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’.


presently, there is no specific legal provision


According to its statement of objectives, presently, there is no specific legal provision to prevent insults to the singing of Vande Mataram, which is honoured as the National Song.


“Therefore, in order to prohibit any person from intentionally / इरादतन जानबूझकर  

  • preventing the singing of the National Song (Vande Mataram) 

  • causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing, 

  • it is proposed to amend section 3 of the said Act to include the National Song also within its ambit, so as to make such acts punishable” the objectives state.


About Vande Mataram (National Song of India)

  • Vande Mataram compose 



  • (also pronounced Bande Mataram) is a poem composed in Sanskrit, but in Bengali script, by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875. It was included in his famous Bengali novel Anandamath (1882).


  • The title “Bande Mataram” means 
  • “I praise thee, Mother”, symbolising devotion to the motherland.


  • The poem was first sung by - 

  • Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress, marking the beginning of its association with India’s freedom movement.


  • National Song of India in 1937  -  The first two verses of the poem were officially adopted as the National Song of India in 1937 by the Congress Working Committee, prior to the end of colonial rule in August 1947.


  • During the Indian independence struggle

  • “Vande Mataram” became a rallying cry for freedom fighters, inspiring unity and courage. It was widely sung at 
  • protests,
  •  meetings, 
  • gatherings organised by the Indian National Congress and other freedom movements, cementing its place in the history of India’s independence struggle.



  • After Independence

  •  the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, 


  • officially designated it as the national song in the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950, stating it     should be honoured equally with the national anthem of India, “Jana Gana Mana”.


The Constitution of India, under Article 51A(a), mandates citizens to respect the 



  • Constitution,
  • institutions,
  • National Flag, 
  • National Anthem; it does not specifically mention the national song.

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