India Mandates Full Vande Mataram
On February 5, 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a clear directive: all central and state government events must now play the full version of Vande Mataram. Not just the first stanza. Both stanzas. No exceptions for official ceremonies. If you have attended Republic Day parades or state functions over the years, you have likely heard the crisp opening lines: “ Vande Mataram, Vande Mataram… ” followed by a collective silence as the song fades out. That changes now. Why This Shift Happened The order corrects a long-standing inconsistency. While the national anthem has strict performance rules—52 seconds, specific orchestration, no arbitrary cuts—the national song existed in a grey area. For decades, many organisers treated the first stanza as the whole song. That was never the intent. According to government records cited in the MHA notification, Rabindranath Tagore himself emphasised performing the song in its entirety. The Home Ministry’s 2025 directive simply enforces what was always …
