Parliament Criminalises Insult To Vande Mataram
Both Houses pass the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, amid vociferous Opposition protests, extending anthem-level legal protection to the national song.
Synopsis
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which made the utterance of the words "Vande Mataram" a crime and put it on par with the national anthem, was passed by Parliament. The bill passed by voice vote in both Houses was passed despite protests from the Opposition and the song is to be sung during formal functions in the State.
AdvertisementLegislation Passed - Controversial Legislation Protested Loudly
Insults to the national song of India, Vande Mataram, have been criminalised in the country, and that's a new law passed by Parliament in order to give it the same legal protection enjoyed by the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
On Wednesday, July 29, the Rajya Sabha passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 by voice vote after it was introduced on July 24, amidst objections from the Opposition parties.
AdvertisementAccording to reports, the Lok Sabha approved the bill, without any voice vote objections, in a subsequent session after two members spoke on the bill.
The Bill's Impact on the Nonprofit Sector
The bill is more than just the headline provision. It suggests desecration of national symbols or lack of respect for the same, such as the national flag, the Constitution, the national anthem and the national song, to be punishable by up to three years imprisonment.
It also makes playing Vande Mataram compulsory during official functions at the state assemblies, an issue that has garnered heaviest criticism from the Opposition benches.
The Opposition's Objection
The forced rendition rule infringes on state sovereignty, critics say. The opposition members argued that this would pose a danger to regional pride, state autonomy and the secular principles of India, which has a linguistic and cultural diversity among the states.
AdvertisementWhile the debate was underway, members of the Congress-led INDIA bloc were also pressing Congress for accountability for the police action in the NEET-UG protest, which ultimately led to two adjournments before the discussion on the bill resumed.
Government's Position
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, while opposing the bill, alleged the Congress was playing "appeasement politics" and was opposing the statutory protection of Vande Mataram, which is a national song.
He drew from the history of the song, saying that many freedom fighters had used it as their last words, and it was in the spirit of the government's 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' (One India, Best India) scheme.
Historical Context
The bill comes within a span of eight months of Parliament undertaking special deliberations on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, which also became a political debate, and had been the subject of objections from Trinamool Congress MPs on allegations that they had made comments about Bengali writers Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore during the discussion.
Why It Matters
The amendment ends a longstanding imbalance between the national anthem and the national song in India, as the former had been provided with statutory protection in the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, but not the latter.
The future of the state-assembly provision, made mandatory by the state, in the wake of federalism-related legal challenges will be tested in the courts in the coming months, as the powers are distributed between the Centre and states in India's Constitution.
