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The Kerala Chief Secretary’s August 6 order instructing that the National Song “Vande Mataram” be sung at all physical celebrations in association with the Union government’s Har Ghar Tiranga campaign has led to a significant political controversy in the state.
Har Ghar Tiranga is to be celebrated from August 9 to 17, and is a campaign to hoist the national flag across the country. “All physical celebrations during this period shall combine the collective singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ with the hoisting/display of the National Flag,” Chief Secretary Bhishwanath Sinha ordered. Physical celebrations during this period include Independence Day parades.
The Chief Secretary’s order mandated that “instructions of the Government of India for recitation of ‘Vande Mataram’ will be followed in full” for the singing of the National Song.
The issue lies in the fact that the official version of the National Song, as per a July 9 order issued by the Union MInistry of Home Affairs, contains six stanzas, including four controversial stanzas considered to be communally-charged. The MHA order said that “the official version only shall be recited in mass singing” whenever the National Song is sung.
Singing of the National Song in full is politically contested, as the last four stanzas are communally-charged.
Following this circular, the UDF government faced criticism from the Opposition. Criticising the circular, Leader of Opposition and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] veteran Pinarayi Vijayan said the UDF government has reached a point where it has complexly surrendered to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agenda.
“The song Vande Mataram in its entirety is not compatible with secularism. There is nothing wrong with reciting the opening stanzas. Insisting on reciting Vande Mataram in full is the RSS’s policy. It is part of their agenda. This government has reached a point where it has completely surrendered to that agenda,” Pinarayi said.
Speaking with the media, N Shamsudheen, the Minister for General Education and leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), said the Chief Secretary’s circular was issued following Lok Bhavan’s instruction. “This is not something decided by the state government. It was an instruction from Lok Bhavan and the Governor,” he said.
Meanwhile, reports say the Governor’s office denied that it issued such instructions to the chief secretary.
Earlier, the UDF government in Kerala decided against playing the full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram in the state Assembly, opting for only the first two stanzas.
In July, the Parliament of India passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, which grants “Vande Mataram” the same statutory protections as the National Anthem, making any deliberate disrespect or disruption during its singing a punishable offence.