The Union Cabinet has approved an amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, to make obstruction of the singing of Vande Mataram a punishable offence, placing the national song under the same statutory shield as the national anthem. The move criminalises deliberate disruption during the rendition of Vande Mataram, aligning its legal protection with that of Jana Gana Mana, the national flag and the Constitution.

Officials said the proposed change will impose penalties for intentionally causing disturbance during the singing of Vande Mataram, matching the existing Act’s provision of up to three years in prison or a fine, or both, for insults to the national anthem or flag. The amendment requires Parliament’s nod to become law.

Former Union minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai for the decision, calling it the fulfilment of a long-standing demand. Thakur said he had raised the issue through a Rule 377 notice in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session to seek legal safeguards for the song.

The Home Ministry in January had mandated that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung first when the national song and national anthem are played together at official functions, with the assembly standing at attention. In March, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea against the directive, calling it non-mandatory and noting no penal consequence was prescribed for non-compliance. Parliament will take up the amendment in its next session.