Sikhs Seek ‘Akal Takht’ Directions on Singing Full ‘Vande Mataram’

September

2026

In February 2026, on the 150^th anniversary of India's national song ‘Vande Mataram’ in Sankritized Bengali written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued new guidelines fixing the rendition time at 3 minutes and 10 seconds, and endorsed the full six-stanza version for formal state functions. In August 2026, after the amendment to Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was passed as Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 by both houses of Parliament. Indian President Droupadi Murmu signed the Bill into law. According to the new law, Vande Mataram has the same legal protection as the national anthem Jana Gana Mana and any attempt to prevent its singing will invite punishment. The song was officially adopted by the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1905 to serve as a pan-Indian, nationalist salutation to Mother India during the Indian independence movement. The first two verses of the song make abstract reference to the 'mother' and 'motherland', without any religious connotation. However, later verses mention the Hindu goddess Durga, among others. The references to Hindu deities became a point of contention in 1937, after which the INC, on the suggestion of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, adopted the first two stanzas of the song. With the new law, once again the six stanzas have become mandatory though very few Indians either know the two or six stanzas, and can sing it in tune. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at party programs, amid BJP attacks over the song’s rendition at its Independence Day program and later at an event in Goa. On 26 Aug, several Sikh organizations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Jagtar Singh Hawara Committee, and United Sikh Students Federation submitted a memorandum to the Jathedar (leader) of Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne), seeking clear and uniform Panthic (Sikh Community) guidelines on singing the full Vande Mataram. Meanwhile, as rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda (sect) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of Haryana's high-security jail for the 17^th time after being granted a 21-day furlough, president of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Jagdish Singh Jhinda, asked why the Sikh prisoners are not being released? (earlier coverage).