Lok Sabha to play full Vande Mataram on adjournment

The government plans to play all six stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram when the extended Budget session of Parliament is adjourned sine die on Saturday, sources said.The session began on January 28 and was scheduled to end on April 2, but was extended till April 18 to take up a Constitutional Amendment Bill to delink the 2027 Census from the women’s reservation law.

The move to play the full song — departing from the usual practice of playing only the first two stanzas in the Lok Sabha when a session is adjourned sine die — coincides with the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections on April 23 and April 29.

According to Lok Sabha Secretariat sources, the six stanzas, with a total duration of 3 minutes and 10 seconds, will be played immediately after the House is adjourned sine die.

Vande Mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875 and later published in his 1882 novel Anandamath. When it was adopted as the national song on January 24, 1950, only the first two stanzas were designated for official use.

In February, the Home Ministry directed that all six stanzas be played at official government events, schools and cultural ceremonies. Saturday will mark the first occasion the complete version is played in the Lok Sabha following that directive.

The February 6 order said the entire song should be rendered at official functions, with attendees standing at attention. It also laid down that the song be played during ceremonial occasions involving the national flag, civilian award ceremonies, state functions and events attended by the President, including before and after presidential addresses broadcast on state media.

At the state level, it is to be played at official functions on the arrival and departure of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, the order added.