Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to introduce the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Rajya Sabha during the upcoming Monsoon Session. The proposed legislation seeks to make insulting or intentionally obstructing the singing of Vande Mataram a punishable offence, carrying imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both.
The amendment would extend to Vande Mataram the same legal protection currently available to the National Anthem under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. At present, intentionally preventing the singing of Jana Gana Mana or causing a disturbance during its rendition is punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. If passed by Parliament, the Bill will place Vande Mataram, India’s National Song, on par with other protected national symbols, including the National Anthem, the National Flag and the Constitution.
The move follows recent directives from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
In a letter to states, the Ministry reportedly asked strict compliance with its instructions that Vande Mataram be played before Jana Gana Mana whenever both are performed at official functions. The communication also reiterated the occasions on which the National Song and the National Anthem are to be sung or played at the beginning, end, or both, of official events.
Earlier, the Ministry advised states and government bodies that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung or played at official events. Written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and first published in his 1882 novel Anandamath, Vande Mataram was accorded the status of India’s National Song on January 24, 1950.