New Delhi: In a historic first, the National Song ‘Vande Mataram’ was played in full during the 80th Independence Day celebrations led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the historic Red Fort on Saturday. The rendition was followed by the customary playing of the National Anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
The year 2026 marks 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’, which had played a significant role in India’s freedom movement and continues to hold a special place in the country’s national consciousness.
As Prime Minister Modi hoisted the National Flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort, the ceremony was synchronised with a 21-gun salute fired by the 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial) using indigenous 105 mm Light Field Guns.
Following the flag hoisting, the Army band performed ‘Vande Mataram’. Two Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force also showered flower petals over the venue. One of the helicopters carried the National Flag, while the other carried a flag bearing the words ‘Vande Mataram’.
Addressing the nation, PM Modi highlighted the historic significance of the rendition and said, “It is for the first time after Independence that ‘Vande Mataram’ has been played at the Red Fort.”
The full version of ‘Vande Mataram’ was recently accorded the same legal protection as the National Anthem. The song was also played before and after President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the nation on the eve of the 80th Independence Day on Friday.
The rendition at the Red Fort was followed by the National Anthem, marking a significant moment in the official Independence Day ceremony.
The development came days after President Murmu gave her assent to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides ‘Vande Mataram’ with the same legal protection as the National Anthem. Under the amended law, deliberate disruption of or obstruction to the singing of the National Song can invite penalties, including imprisonment, a fine, or both.
In her address to the nation, President Murmu recalled the role played by the song during the freedom struggle. “During the Swadeshi Movement, the song Vande Mataram became a song of the masses,” the President said.
‘Vande Mataram’ was initially composed independently and was later included in Chatterjee’s novel ‘Anandamath’. It was first sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Congress Session in Calcutta, now Kolkata. According to a government note titled ‘150 Years of Vande Mataram: A Melody That Became a Movement’, shared on November 6 last year, the chant ‘Vande Mataram’ was first used as a political slogan on August 7, 1905.
–IANS
