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The Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday, July 29, passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to extend legal protection to the national song Vande Mataram. If it becomes law, intentionally preventing the singing of Vande Mataram or disrupting an assembly singing it will become a criminal offence punishable with up to three years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.
The Union government says the amendment fulfils the Constituent Assembly's 1950 decision that Vande Mataram should be honoured equally with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha amid Opposition protests and now awaits consideration in the Lok Sabha.
What is the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971?
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 is the parent law that criminalises certain acts of disrespect towards India's national symbols. Enacted by Parliament in 1971, it provides legal protection to the National Flag, the Constitution of India, and the National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana). The law prescribes penalties for intentionally insulting these symbols, including imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both. It also provides enhanced punishment for repeat offenders.
The Act has three principal components:
Section 2 criminalises acts such as burning, mutilating, defacing, defiling, destroying, trampling upon, or otherwise showing disrespect to the National Flag or the Constitution in a public place.
Section 3 makes it an offence to intentionally prevent the singing of the National Anthem or disturb an assembly engaged in singing it.
Section 3A, inserted later, provides enhanced punishment for second and subsequent convictions under the Act.
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to change that by bringing Vande Mataram within the ambit of Section 3, making intentional obstruction of its singing or disruption of an assembly singing it punishable in the same way as similar acts involving the National Anthem.
What does the current law say?
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 currently provides statutory protection to:
the National Flag,
the Constitution of India, and
the National Anthem.
Section 3 presently criminalises only two acts relating to the National Anthem:
intentionally preventing its singing; and
causing disturbance to an assembly singing it.
The punishment is imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.
The Bill leaves this punishment unchanged but extends it to Vande Mataram.
What is the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026?
The Bill proposes to amend Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
At present, Section 3 makes it an offence to intentionally prevent the singing of the National Anthem or cause disturbance to an assembly engaged in singing it.
The amendment substitutes the existing section with a new provision that extends the same protection to the National Song. If enacted, anyone who intentionally:
prevents the singing of the National Anthem or the National Song; or
causes disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing, can be punished with imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.
Unlike the existing law, the amendment simply adds the National Song to the offences already recognised under the 1971 Act.
Why has the government introduced this amendment?
The Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons cites the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly held on January 24, 1950.
It notes that the Assembly's President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, stated that Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, had played a historic role in India's freedom struggle and "shall be honoured equally" with Jana Gana Mana and enjoy equal status.
However, despite this recognition, the government says there has been no specific legal provision preventing people from intentionally disrupting or preventing the singing of Vande Mataram.
The amendment seeks to remove this gap by bringing the National Song within the scope of Section 3 of the 1971 Act so that the same acts become punishable. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Bill aims to prohibit any person from intentionally preventing the singing of the National Song or causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in its rendition.
Does the Bill make singing Vande Mataram compulsory?
No. The Bill does not require citizens to sing Vande Mataram.
Its text criminalises only two acts:
intentionally preventing its singing; and
intentionally disturbing an assembly singing it.
It does not create a separate offence for remaining silent or choosing not to sing.
The Supreme Court's judgement in Bijoe Emmanuel vs State of Kerala (1986) is significant here. The Court held that three Jehovah's Witness students could not be expelled from school for respectfully standing during the National Anthem without singing it, holding that compelling them to sing violated their freedom of conscience and religion under Articles 19(1)(a) and 25 of the Constitution.
The Court observed that standing respectfully without singing did not amount to disrespect. Since the amendment does not expressly override this judgment, the precedent is expected to remain relevant if questions arise over whether silent non-participation constitutes an offence.
What happened in Parliament?
The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on July 24, 2026.
During the discussion on July 29, Opposition parties continued demanding a response from the government over the police action against protesters demonstrating against the NEET paper leak. They later staged a walkout while the debate on the Bill continued.
Replying to the debate, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the amendment was not merely a legislative change but reflected India's "national consciousness, cultural heritage and the ideals of the freedom struggle." He also accused the Congress of opposing Vande Mataram for political reasons.
The Bill was subsequently passed by a voice vote.
What happens next?
The Bill has only been passed by the Rajya Sabha.
It must still be:
passed by the Lok Sabha; and
receive the President's assent.
Only after completing this legislative process will the amendment become law.
You can add the following section after explaining what the Bill proposes.
Why has the Bill become politically significant?
The amendment fulfils a long-standing demand of the BJP and organisations associated with the Sangh Parivar, which have argued that Vande Mataram should enjoy the same legal status as the National Anthem because of its role in the freedom movement. Over the years, several BJP-ruled states have also introduced measures encouraging or mandating the singing of Vande Mataram in schools, legislatures and public institutions. Supporters of the Bill argue that it merely removes a legal distinction between two national symbols.
However, the Bill has also revived a decades-old political and constitutional debate.
The controversy over Vande Mataram predates Independence. Although the song became a rallying cry during the freedom movement, its later stanzas invoke Hindu deities such as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, leading to objections from sections of Muslims.
In 1937, the Congress Working Committee, after consulting Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, decided that only the first two stanzas should be sung at public functions, as they were considered free of explicit religious imagery. This compromise was carried forward when the Constituent Assembly adopted Jana Gana Mana as the National Anthem on January 24, 1950. Assembly President Dr Rajendra Prasad simultaneously declared that Vande Mataram, because of its historic role in the freedom struggle, "shall be honoured equally" with the National Anthem, but it was not accorded the same statutory protection under the 1971 Act.