Union Cabinet approved a proposal to amend
the ‘Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971
Union Cabinet recently approved a proposal to amend
the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, to make insulting or
obstructing the singing of Vande Mataram a punishable offence.
The Cabinet approved amendments to Section 3 of the
Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which currently penalises
intentional prevention or disturbance of the National Anthem.The proposed
amendment seeks to place Vande Mataram, India’s National Song, on a legal
footing similar to that of the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.Once enacted by
Parliament, intentional disruption, disturbance, or acts of disrespect during
the singing of Vande Mataram may attract punishment of up to three years’
imprisonment, fine, or both.The move follows recent directives issued by the
Union Ministry of Home Affairs to States and other government bodies
encouraging the rendition of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram during official
and ceremonial occasions, particularly in the context of the song’s 150th
anniversary commemorations.
The advisory also stated that when both are played at
an event, Vande Mataram should be rendered before the National Anthem.
Vande Mataram
¨
Vande Mataram was
composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the 1870s and was later included in
his novel Anandamath (1882).
¨
The song is primarily
written in highly Sanskritised Bengali and invokes the motherland as a divine
mother figure.
¨
The song was first sung
at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress (INC) in Kolkata by
Rabindranath Tagore, marking its early association with the Indian freedom
movement.
¨
During the Swadeshi
Movement (1905) against the Partition of Bengal, Vande Mataram emerged as a
powerful slogan of anti-colonial nationalism and became closely associated with
India’s freedom struggle.
¨
In 1937, leaders of INC
decided to use only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at its gatherings,
as later stanzas contain explicit devotional references to Hindu deities, which
some communities found objectionable and exclusionary during the
inclusive‑mass‑phase of the freedom movement.
¨
In 1950, the Constituent
Assembly accorded Vande Mataram the status of the National Song, while Jana
Gana Mana was adopted as the National Anthem.
Prevention of Insults to National Honour
Act, 1971
The Act was enacted to prevent disrespect
toward India’s key national symbols, including:
¨
The National Flag
¨
The Constitution of India
¨
The National Anthem.
Section 3 of the Act currently prescribes punishment
for intentionally preventing the singing of the National Anthem or causing
disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing.Punishment under the Act may
extend to – Three years’ imprisonment, or Fine, or Both.The proposed amendment
seeks to extend similar statutory protection to Vande Mataram.
