Cabinet clears proposal to equate Vande Mataram with Jana Gana Mana

NEW DELHI: In its archetypal determination aft sweeping the Bengal polls, Cabinet Tuesday approved a connection to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act to enactment National Song Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, connected the aforesaid footing arsenic the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana. At present, the instrumentality provides jail, good oregon some for insults to National Flag and Constitution, and for preventing singing of National Anthem. Under the connection cleared by the Cabinet chaired by PM Modi, Vande Mataram would beryllium added to this list, making non-compliance of norms a cognisable offence. The state is celebrating the 150th twelvemonth of Vande Mataram. For this, Section 3 of the Act would beryllium amended. It presently states that whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the National Anthem oregon causes disturbance to immoderate assembly engaged successful specified singing shall beryllium punished with imprisonment up to 3 years, oregon fine, oregon both.

Repeat offences pull astatine slightest 1 twelvemonth jail. During Parliament’s peculiar treatment connected the “150th Year of Vande Mataram” successful Dec past year, defence curate Rajnath Singh powerfully advocated elevating the song’s presumption to lucifer National Anthem, accusing Congress of historically communalising it and sidelining it owed to appeasement politics. The determination is politically important fixed the taste and humanities resonance of the song, peculiarly successful Bengal, and the salient spot it occupied successful India’s state movement.

Unlike the National Anthem, it has truthful acold not enjoyed explicit ineligible protection. The song, a rallying outcry for state fighters, was archetypal published successful Bankim Chandra’s 1882 caller Anandmath, inspired by the sanyasi rebellion against the East India Company regularisation successful Bengal. Earlier successful Jan, the MHA guidelines outlined behaviour concerning Vande Mataram.