President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which now criminalizes the intentional disruption or prevention of the singing of the national song 'Vande Mataram'. This landmark amendment elevates 'Vande Mataram' to the same legal standing as the national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana', ensuring it receives equivalent protection against disrespect. The new law, passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, brings acts that disturb the singing of 'Vande Mataram' under the purview of existing penalties, which previously only applied to the national anthem

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which now criminalizes the intentional disruption or prevention of the singing of the national song 'Vande Mataram'. This landmark amendment elevates 'Vande Mataram' to the same legal standing as the national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana', ensuring it receives equivalent protection against disrespect. The new law, passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, brings acts that disturb the singing of 'Vande Mataram' under the purview of existing penalties, which previously only applied to the national anthem

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which now criminalizes the intentional disruption or prevention of the singing of the national song 'Vande Mataram'. This landmark amendment elevates 'Vande Mataram' to the same legal standing as the national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana', ensuring it receives equivalent protection against disrespect. The new law, passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, brings acts that disturb the singing of 'Vande Mataram' under the purview of existing penalties, which previously only applied to the national anthem

President Droupadi Murmu, on Tuesday, gave assent to a Bill that criminalises intentional disruption or prevention of the singing of the national song 'Vande Mataram', giving it the same legal protection as the national anthem.

With the president's assent, The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, has become a law, granting Vande Mataram the same status as the national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana'.

The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on July 30, while the Rajya Sabha had cleared it a day earlier.

Earlier, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act prohibited intentionally preventing the singing of the national anthem (Jana Gana Mana) or causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in the singing of the song.

These offences were punishable with up to three years of imprisonment, a fine or both, while a second and every subsequent conviction attracted a minimum of one year's imprisonment.

The law, however, did not accord the same protection for the national song.

"Presently, there is no specific legal provision to prevent insults to the singing of 'Vande Mataram', which is honoured as the national song. Therefore, in order to prohibit any person from intentionally preventing the singing of the national song or causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing, it is proposed to amend Section 3 of the said Act to include the national song also within its ambit, so as to make such acts punishable," the Bill had said.

The president of the Constituent Assembly, Dr Rajendra Prasad, on January 24, 1950, stated that the song 'Vande Mataram' composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, which played a historic role in the Indian freedom struggle, shall be honoured equally with the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' and shall have equal status with it, the Bill further said.

Earlier this year, the Union Home Ministry directed that all six stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' shall be sung first when the national song and the national anthem are played together.

—With agency inputs