SHILLONG, March 6: North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum has lodged a protest against the new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) mandating that the full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram be played or sung at all government functions, official events and school assemblies.
The directive, issued by the MHA last month, marks a shift from the earlier practice of performing only the first two stanzas of the national song composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
The Home Ministry in its order on February 6 stated that the ‘official version’ of the song now includes all six stanzas of the original composition.
The order also specifies that the duration for which the song should be played or sung will be 3 minutes and 10 seconds, while laying down protocols and occasions for its performance to ensure due honour to the national song.
The MHA instructions coincide with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the creation of the song.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Chief Secretary Shakil P. Ahammed here on Friday, Nongrum said he had submitted a letter urging the state government to register a strong protest against the recent instructions circulated to various departments and offices under the Meghalaya government for strict observance of the national song at all official functions through playing and mass singing of the full-length version of Vande Mataram.
“I want to clearly state that I am not against the national song Vande Mataram. But I am totally against the full-length version of the national song and I fully subscribe to the first two stanzas,” Nongrum said.
The North Shillong MLA also stated in his letter that the first two stanzas, written in Sanskrit by Chattopadhyay, were adopted as the national song by the Constituent Assembly of India in 1950.
He further pointed out that there is no explicit mention of a national song in the Constitution of India and cautioned that enforcing the full version could infringe upon Article 25 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees citizens the freedom of religion.
“As a Christian believer, I would like to quote the first of the Ten Commandments — ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not have any strange God before me’,” Nongrum said.
He appealed to the government, through the Chief Secretary, to make appropriate corrections to the instructions so that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram are played at official functions in the state.
