President Droupadi Murmu has approved legislation that makes insulting or disrupting the singing of India’s national song, Vande Mataram, a criminal offence, bringing the bill into force.
The 2026 Prevention of Insults to National Honour Amendment Bill received the president’s assent on Thursday.
The Lok Sabha passed the bill by voice vote on July 30 amid protests by opposition lawmakers seeking a debate on police action during youth demonstrations on July 20. The Rajya Sabha had approved the legislation a day earlier. The protests were held over alleged mismanagement in the conduct of competitive examinations.
The new law extends to Vande Mataram protections already available to the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. Deliberately preventing the singing of the national song or disrupting an assembly while it is being sung can now attract up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.
The 1971 Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act already provides similar penalties for insulting the national anthem, national flag or Constitution.
The legislation drew opposition from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Lok Sabha. DMK lawmaker Kanimozhi accused the government of pursuing a “Hindutva agenda” in the name of nationalism.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai rejected the criticism, saying the measure was about “Indian pride” and was not aimed at any state or ideology.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has, in turn, accused the Congress of disrespecting Vande Mataram through “appeasement politics”.
The federal government is marking the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, which was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and played a prominent role in India’s independence movement.
A government note issued on November 6 said the Constituent Assembly had adopted Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem and Vande Mataram as the national song.
The note cited Rajendra Prasad, India’s first president, as telling the Constituent Assembly in January 1950 that Vande Mataram, because of its contribution to the freedom struggle, “shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it”.
In January, the home ministry directed that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram be performed before Jana Gana Mana when the two are played together.
Previously, official functions generally used only the first two stanzas. The other stanzas refer to Hindu goddesses including Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
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