The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines directing that the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ be played before the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ at all government events and in all schools across the country.

Under the new rules, individuals must stand when ‘Vande Mataram’ is played at official functions. The directive also expands the occasions on which the song will be performed, including civilian award ceremonies such as the Padma awards and events attended by the President, during both arrival and departure.

The guidelines further state that ‘Vande Mataram’ will be played in public spaces such as cinema halls. However, standing will not be mandatory in such instances.

Significantly, all six stanzas of the song will now be rendered, including four that were not used at national gatherings following a 1937 decision by the Congress leadership.

Legal backing and extension of protections

Last month, sources had indicated that the government was considering extending protocols applicable to the national anthem under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act to the national song.

Under this law, anyone who disrupts or prevents others from showing respect to the national anthem — and now the national song — can face imprisonment of up to three years.

Political backdrop to the directive

The move is expected to trigger political debate, especially after last year’s exchange between the ruling BJP and the Congress over the history of ‘Vande Mataram’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accused former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of opposing the song on the grounds that it could “irritate Muslims”, alleging that this approach mirrored that of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The BJP had also shared letters written by Nehru to support its position. The issue intensified during a parliamentary discussion marking the 150th anniversary of the song.

The four stanzas that were earlier excluded contain references to Hindu goddesses such as Durga, Kamala (Lakshmi) and Saraswati. In 1937, at a Congress session in Faizpur led by Nehru, it was decided that only the first two stanzas would be used at national gatherings. The rationale was that the later verses were viewed by some members of the Muslim community as exclusionary.

The BJP has argued that the earlier exclusions reflected a divisive approach and that dropping the stanzas contributed to the circumstances leading to Partition.

In response, Congress leaders have criticised the ruling party. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge described it as ironic that those claiming to defend nationalism had not historically sung ‘Vande Mataram’. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking in Parliament, accused the Prime Minister and the BJP of selectively quoting Nehru and presenting excerpts from his letters without context, and alleged political motives linked to the upcoming Assembly election in Bengal.

Historical context of the song

‘Vande Mataram’ was written on November 7, 1875, by Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and later published in his 1882 novel ‘Anandmath’. The song became a rallying cry during India’s freedom movement.

Across its six stanzas, the composition portrays the nation as a mother figure, combining nurturing and protective imagery. The later verses specifically reference Hindu goddesses, which formed the basis of the 1937 decision to limit its official use to the first two stanzas.

With the new directive, the government has reinstated all six stanzas for official performance.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he has filed a civil defamation case seeking Rs500 crore in damages against senior Congress leaders Jitendra Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.

The chief minister accused the three leaders of making false, malicious and defamatory allegations against him during a press conference held in Guwahati last week.

In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, Sarma said he has approached the court over what he described as baseless accusations levelled against him in the public domain.

“Today, I have filed a defamation case seeking Rs500 crore in damages against Congress leaders Jitendra Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Gaurav Gogoi for making false, malicious and defamatory allegations against me through a press conference,” Sarma wrote.

The legal action follows the Assam Congress’s launch of a website titled “Who Is HBS” on February 4, along with the circulation of a pamphlet accusing the chief minister of corruption, misuse of power and disrespect towards cultural icons.

The website, which sought details of Sarma’s alleged assets, was later allegedly hacked after its launch.

Congress leaders had also claimed that the chief minister and his family owned around 12,000 bighas, or nearly 4,000 acres, of land, alleging that rules were manipulated to convert agricultural land into industrial land.

Sources said the defamation case has been initiated at the Kamrup District Civil Court, with further proceedings currently underway.

Meanwhile, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee on Tuesday lodged a police complaint at Dispur Police Station against the BJP and Sarma, alleging misuse of artificial intelligence to malign Gaurav Gogoi and targeting Muslims through a now-deleted video referred to as the “point blank shot” clip.

APCC senior spokesperson Gopal Sarma alleged that the BJP was engaging in what he described as “the worst kind of colonisation of politics” in Assam ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. He also claimed that an AI-generated video was circulated portraying a person from a religious minority as Gogoi.

Responding to the police complaint, Sarma said he would continue speaking openly and was not intimidated by legal action.

“It is good that they have filed the case. What does communal mean? You all know who I am against,” the chief minister said.

“For me, white is white and black is black. They cannot frighten me. Anyone can file a case against me,” he added.

The video in question, posted on Saturday, was deleted following a political backlash. Sarma had on Monday said he was unaware of the video.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday trained his guns on the Congress after sharing a video of a confrontation in the Lok Sabha, terming the conduct of Opposition MPs as the “most degrading behaviour” and warning that the incident could have escalated into a physical clash.

The video relates to proceedings on February 4, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Lower House.

According to Rijiju, several women Congress MPs moved close to the Prime Minister’s designated seat in an attempt to block his entry and directly confront him. He claimed the situation was defused only after BJP MPs were restrained from engaging with the protesting members.

In a post accompanying the footage, Rijiju alleged that the Opposition’s actions posed a serious threat to the dignity of Parliament. He said the BJP leadership had issued clear instructions to ensure no physical confrontation took place, despite what he described as provocation from Opposition MPs.

The minister further questioned how such conduct could be justified inside the House, reiterating that maintaining the sanctity of parliamentary proceedings was the government’s priority.

What the video shows

The video shared by Rijiju shows women MPs standing around the Prime Minister’s chair in the Lok Sabha, holding banners and posters and refusing to vacate the area despite repeated requests.

Two to three Union ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw and Giriraj Singh, are seen in close conversation with the protesting MPs, urging them to return to their seats and avoid what Rijiju described as “unparliamentary behaviour”. The MPs, however, continue to hold their ground.

Rijiju later described the episode as an unprecedented stand-off during the Motion of Thanks debate, claiming that the House could have turned into a “battleground” had the situation not been handled tactfully.

Speaker’s intervention and outcome

The developments prompted intervention from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. On Thursday, Birla said he had requested the Prime Minister not to enter the House to prevent any unpleasant incident, citing information that some Congress MPs might approach the Prime Minister’s seat and create an unprecedented situation.

Eventually, the Motion of Thanks was passed on February 4 without Prime Minister Modi delivering his reply in the Lok Sabha.