Ministry of Home Affairs issues new guidelines to compulsorily play or sing six stanzas of National song at all official events and in Schools

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today issued new guidelines with respect to National song ‘Vande Mataram’ making it mandatory that a six stanza-long, 3 minute and 10 seconds version of the song be played or sung at official occasions and in schools.

The National song will be played during the President’s arrival at events, before and her speeches, addresses to nation and after the arrival  and speeches of Governors and also during civilian awards ceremony as the Padma awards among others.

According to the new guidelines, all persons need to stand up when the National song is played just before the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ at all Government events and in schools. 

Sources said, under the new rules, Vande Mataram will cover the official six-stanza version and will also cover the four stanzas that were removed by the Congress in 1937. The move comes amid 150th anniversary the National song which was celebrated across the nation recently.  The song was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee during India’s freedom movement. However, only the first two stanzas on the song was adopted as the National song.