SHILLONG: North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum has lodged a protest against new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs mandating that the full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram be played or sung at government functions, official events and school assemblies.
The directive, issued by the Home Ministry in February, marks a shift from the earlier practice of performing only the first two stanzas of the national song at official occasions.
According to the order, the “official version” of Vande Mataram now includes all six stanzas of the original composition. The ministry has also specified that the song should be played or sung for a duration of 3 minutes and 10 seconds, while outlining protocols and occasions for its performance to ensure due honour to the national song.
The guidelines were issued as part of the 150th anniversary observance of the creation of Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya, Shakil P. Ahammed, on Friday evening, Nongrum said he had submitted a letter urging the state government to register a strong protest against the instructions circulated to departments and offices under the Government of Meghalaya for strict compliance with the directive.
“I want to clearly state that I am not against the national song Vande Mataram. But I am totally against the full-length version of the national song and I fully subscribe to the first two stanzas,” Nongrum said.
In his letter, the MLA noted that the first two stanzas of the song, written in Sanskrit, were adopted as the national song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.
He further pointed out that there is no explicit mention of a national song in the Constitution of India, and cautioned that enforcing the full version could potentially infringe upon Article 25 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees freedom of religion.
“As a Christian believer, I would like to quote the first of the Ten Commandments — ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not have any strange God before me,’” Nongrum said.
He appealed to the state government, through the Chief Secretary, to review and correct the instructions so that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram are played at official functions.
