Parliament passes Bill criminalising insults to Vande Mataram

The Lok Sabha on July 29, 2026, passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to make intentional insults to or obstruction of the rendition of the National Song, ‘Vande Mataram’, a punishable offence. 

• The legislation had already been passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 28, 2026.
• The Bill seeks to amend Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
• The amendment proposes to extend to the National Song, Vande Mataram, the legal protection currently available to the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
• Under the proposed amendment, it would be an offence to intentionally prevent the singing of Vande Mataram.
• It would also constitute an offence to cause disturbance to an assembly engaged in singing the National Song.

Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971

• The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was enacted on December 23, 1971.
• The Act extends to the whole of India.
• It provides statutory protection to:
  • National Flag of India
  • Constitution of India
  • National Anthem – Jana Gana Mana
• The 2026 amendment seeks to bring Vande Mataram within the same statutory framework of protection.

About Vande Mataram 

• Vande Mataram, meaning “Mother, I Bow to Thee”, was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
• It was first published in the literary journal Bangadarshan on November 7, 1875.
• The song was subsequently included in Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel Anandamath, published in 1882.
• Rabindranath Tagore set the song to music and first sang it at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta.
• Vande Mataram became a powerful symbol of resistance during India’s freedom struggle.
• It was first used as a political slogan on August 7, 1905, during the Swadeshi Movement, which emerged in opposition to the partition of Bengal.
• On January 24, 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of the Constituent Assembly, stated that Vande Mataram should be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and accorded equal status.

Source: PIB

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