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Vande Mataram: President Draupadi Murmu on Tuesday assent to the Prevention of Insults to National Honor (Amendment) Bill, 2026. After the approval of the President, this bill has now become law. Under the new law, deliberately stopping or creating obstruction in the singing of the national anthem ‘Vande Mataram’ will be considered a crime. According to the government, Vande Mataram will now get the same legal protection which the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ currently enjoys.

Approval had been received from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The Prevention of Insults to National Honor (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 30, while the Rajya Sabha had approved it a day earlier. Under the law, a provision has been made to give equal status to ‘Vande Mataram’ as the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’.

Vande Mataram will echo from the Red Fort on Independence Day

According to the Union Home Ministry, for the first time in this Independence Day celebrations, ‘Vande Mataram’ will be sung from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Earlier, under the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, it was prohibited to deliberately stop the singing of the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ or create disturbance in a gathering engaged in its singing.

Punishment can be up to three years

Under the law, there was a provision for a maximum imprisonment of three years, fine or both for such crimes. There was a provision for imprisonment of at least one year for second and subsequent offences. Through the new amendment, the way has been cleared for giving similar legal protection to the national anthem.

What was the reasoning given in the bill?

The bill said that till now there was no specific legal provision to prevent the insult of singing of ‘Vande Mataram’, even though it has the respect of the national song. For this reason, it was proposed to amend the law to include the national song within its scope, so that acts that deliberately prevent or hinder its singing can be made punishable.

Mention of respect equal to Jan Gana Mana

The statement of the President of the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad dated January 24, 1950 was also mentioned in the Bill. He had said that ‘Vande Mataram’ composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, which played a historic role in the Indian freedom struggle, would be given the same respect as the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and would get equal status.

Instructions to sing the first six verses

Earlier this year, the Union Home Ministry had directed to sing all six stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ first in case the national anthem and national anthem are played simultaneously. In the order issued on January 28, the protocol to the singing of the national anthem was also mentioned. It said its six verses, each with a duration of three minutes and 10 seconds, would be sung at official events such as the arrival of the President, hoisting of the national flag and speeches by governors.