MHA Directs Vande Mataram To Be Sung Before National Anthem At Official Events

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a notification directing that Vande Mataram must be sung or played before the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, whenever both are rendered together.

The guidelines have been issued to mark the 150th year of Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, with the official version running for approximately three minutes and ten seconds.

The MHA said that whenever the official version of the National Song is sung or played, “the audience shall stand to attention.” An exception has been made when the song forms part of a newsreel or documentary film, as standing in such cases could “create disorder and confusion rather than add to the dignity of the national song.”

According to the order, the National Song is to be played at civil investiture ceremonies, during the arrival and departure of the President at formal State functions, and immediately before and after the President’s address to the nation on radio or television.

The song is also prescribed when the National Flag is brought on parade. When performed by a band, it must be preceded by a seven-pace drum roll in slow march or another clear musical signal such as a fanfare.

Schools have been encouraged to begin the day with community singing of the National Song, and audiences are required to stand to attention whenever it is sung or played, except when it appears as part of newsreels or documentary films.