Govt set to bring Bill to criminalise insult to Vande Mataram, Pg3

Key Highlights:

• The Indian government is set to introduce the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Rajya Sabha.
• The Bill aims to criminalize any obstruction or insult to the national song Vande Mataram, placing it at par with the national anthem Jana Gana Mana.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to introduce the legislation on the first day of the Monsoon Session.
• The proposed amendment includes penal provisions of up to three years imprisonment, a fine, or both, for offenders.

Detailed Insights:

• The existing Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 already penalizes disrespect towards the national flag, the Constitution, and the national anthem.
• The amendment specifically seeks to include Vande Mataram within the ambit of Section 3 of the 1971 Act, addressing the current lack of specific legal provisions for its protection.
• The move coincides with the government marking the 150th anniversary of the national song.
• Opposition parties, such as the CPM, have expressed concerns that the Bill risks unsettling constitutional balance and the principle of voluntary patriotism.
• Historically, Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the 1870s and featured in his novel Anandamath, served as a powerful rallying cry during the Indian independence movement.
• The Congress Working Committee had adopted a resolution on October 28, 1937, declaring Vande Mataram as the national song, with specific stanzas to be sung.
• Jana Gana Mana, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted as the National Anthem by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971: An Indian parliamentary act that prohibits desecration or insult to the country's national symbols.
• Vande Mataram: India's National Song, a patriotic poem by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, symbolizing the freedom struggle.
• Jana Gana Mana: India's National Anthem, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, adopted in 1950.
• Rajya Sabha: The upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India.