- The Union Home Ministry issued new guidelines for singing Vande Mataram at official events
- Schools must start the day with collective singing of Vande Mataram and promote national respect
- Audiences need not stand during a screening to avoid disturbance
The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday issued new guidelines for singing and playing of the national song Vande Mataram, to all states and Union territories, ministries and constitutional bodies. It mandates that a six-stanza-long, 3 minutes and 10 seconds version of Vande Mataram be played or sung at a raft of official occasions, including during the unfurling of the Tricolour, arrival of the President at events, before and after her speeches and addresses to the nation, and before and after the arrival and speeches of governors.
The list of occasions on which it may be sung cannot be exhaustive, but there is no objection to singing it respectfully on any occasion as a salutation to the motherland, provided proper decorum is maintained. When the Vande Mataram is sung with band accompaniment, a drum roll or bugle should be played beforehand to alert the audience.
If the national song and the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, are sung or played together, Vande Mataram will be played first, and that the audience shall stand in attention during the singing or playing.
All schools are required to begin their day with the collective singing of Vande Mataram. School authorities must take steps to popularise Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana, and respect for the national flag, the MHA guidelines said.
Moreover, the new rules make a significant clarification for cinema halls: audiences are not required to stand when ‘Vande Mataram' is played as part of a film screening, noting that standing during a movie disrupts the presentation and causes disturbance.
As per an Hindustan Times report, previously there was no official protocol during the singing of Vande Mataram – unlike Jana Gana Mana, which has clearly defined rules on the tune, duration and singing of the song. The expanded, six-stanza version of the song has not been sung in official events till now.
The Parliament discussed Vande Mataram in December, tracing the song's origins and its role in the freedom struggle. The theme of the Republic Day parade this year was also 'Swatantrata Ka Mantra - Vande Mataram'.
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