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The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala is currently facing a significant political controversy following an official directive from the state Chief Secretary that the national song, “Vande Mataram”, be sung in full during the upcoming Independence Day events.
In a letter issued on August 6, Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha insisted that all physical celebrations on Independence Day should include the collective singing of "Vande Mataram" alongside the hoisting or display of the National Flag. The letter also mentions that the Government of India has declared that "Har Ghar Tiranga", a campaign to hoist the national flag in houses across the country, will be observed this year from August 9 to 17.
This new directive mandates the rendition of all six stanzas of the song. This 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.
