Nationalism, National Symbols and Constitutional Citizenship

03 Oct 2026

Tags: Polity & Constitution   Foundations   Constitutional evolution

Source: The Hindu

Context: The article contrasts two songs associated with Indian nationalism — Vande Mataram and Vaishnava Jana To — to examine different understandings of nationalism.

• The immediate context is the 2026 legal and administrative changes concerning Vande Mataram, including its treatment at official functions and its inclusion within the penal framework governing national honour. The Ministry of Home Affairs currently lists the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026 among its national-symbol legislation.
• The broader constitutional issue is the balance between respect for national symbols, freedom of conscience, religious freedom and equal citizenship.

Vande Mataram: From Nationalist Symbol to Contemporary Debate

• Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote the opening stanzas of Vande Mataram around the 1870s; the song later appeared in his novel Anandamath.
• The first two stanzas primarily celebrate the motherland through imagery of its landscape, fertility, rivers and natural beauty.
• The later stanzas employ religious imagery, portraying the motherland through figures such as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, creating objections among sections of the population regarding its suitability as a common national song.
• The song became closely associated with the Swadeshi movement after the Partition of Bengal in 1905, when its opening words became a powerful nationalist slogan.

The 1937 Accommodation

• In 1937, the Congress Working Committee recognised objections to the later, religiously allegorical portions and recommended that only the first two stanzas be used at national gatherings.
• The historical reasoning was that the first two stanzas could function as a common national expression, whereas the later portions contained imagery that some communities could not accept. Contemporary records of the Congress discussions confirm this distinction.
• Rabindranath Tagore, who had set the song to music, supported the distinction between the widely acceptable opening and the later theological imagery.
• The 1937 arrangement therefore represented an attempt to preserve the song's nationalist significance while accommodating India's religious diversity.

Constitutional Status of National Anthem and National Song

• On 24 January 1950, President of the Constituent Assembly Rajendra Prasad announced that Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem and that Vande Mataram, because of its historic role in the freedom struggle, would be honoured equally.
• This created a distinction between National Anthem and National Song while according both symbolic national significance.
• The article emphasises that honour does not necessarily imply compulsory performance or participation.
• Historically, the legal protection under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 focused on specified national symbols, while Vande Mataram was not originally placed within the same penal framework. The Ministry of Home Affairs now lists the 2026 amendment alongside the 1971 Act.

Current Legal and Constitutional Debate

• The 2026 government directions concerning Vande Mataram have reopened questions about its full six-stanza version, official ceremonial use and relationship with the National Anthem.
• The article refers to a challenge by T.M. Krishna before the Supreme Court concerning the legislation and government orders.
• The Court had not finally adjudicated the matter at the time of the article; the discussion therefore concerns constitutional questions rather than a settled judicial position.
• A central issue is whether an individual can respectfully decline to sing a national song on grounds of conscience while remaining respectful towards the national symbol.
• This brings into focus the Supreme Court's decision in Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986), which protected schoolchildren who respectfully declined to sing the National Anthem because of their religious beliefs.

Vande Mataram and Its Changing Public Meaning

• The article argues that restricting Vande Mataram to selected stanzas in national functions need not amount to disrespect for Bankim Chandra's complete work.
• A literary work can be adapted or selectively used for a specific public purpose without denying the value of its complete original form.
• The song has also acquired new cultural interpretations; A.R. Rahman's 1997 rendition, Maa Tujhe Salaam, helped introduce Vande Mataram to a new generation through a contemporary musical form.

The Other Song: Vaishnava Jana To

• Narsinh Mehta, a 15th-century Gujarati saint-poet associated with Junagadh, composed Vaishnava Jana To.
• The song defines a spiritually and ethically worthy person through qualities such as empathy, humility, equality, truthfulness, self-restraint, honesty and compassion.
• Its central idea is expressed through the phrase “peed parai jaane re” — recognising and feeling the suffering of others.
• The song does not centre nationalism on territory, religious imagery or an external enemy; instead, it focuses on ethical conduct and concern for fellow human beings.
• Mahatma Gandhi frequently used the song and included it in his prayer meetings, alongside religiously diverse devotional compositions.

Connection with Constitutional Values

• The article draws parallels between the ethical ideals in Vaishnava Jana To and constitutional values:
  • Feeling another's pain → fraternity and dignity of the individual.
  • Treating people equally → equality before law under Article 14.
  • Respecting all → religious pluralism and secular citizenship.
  • Rejecting dishonesty and wrongful appropriation → ethical public conduct and probity.
• This illustrates the broader idea of constitutional morality: citizens and institutions are expected not merely to obey laws but to uphold values such as equality, dignity, liberty, fraternity and pluralism.

Two Conceptions of Nationalism

• The article uses the two songs to contrast two broad approaches to nationalism:
  • Vande Mataram: nationalism expressed through attachment to the motherland and its symbolic representation.
  • Vaishnava Jana To: nationalism expressed through ethical citizenship, empathy and concern for others.
• The distinction is not presented as requiring rejection of either song; rather, it raises the question of whether national unity is best sustained through shared compulsion or voluntary identification.

Inclusion as the Basis of National Unity

• The article traces the evolution of the imagined national community in Vande Mataram — from “seven crore” people in its original context, to later adaptations reflecting a larger Indian nation.
• India's present population is around 1.4 billion, making inclusion across linguistic, religious, regional and cultural differences central to national integration.
• The article's argument is that a diverse constitutional democracy cannot depend solely on uniform outward displays of loyalty; national unity also requires citizens to regard one another as equal members of the political community.

Freedom of Conscience

• Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to constitutional limitations.
• Freedom of conscience protects an individual's ability to hold and act upon sincerely held beliefs, subject to the broader constitutional framework.

Fundamental Duties and National Symbols

• Article 51A(a) requires citizens to respect the Constitution, National Flag and National Anthem.
• Fundamental Duties are constitutionally recognised obligations of citizens, but their precise legal enforceability differs from that of Fundamental Rights.
• The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 provides statutory protection against specified forms of insult to national symbols.

Bijoe Emmanuel Case, 1986

• The Supreme Court protected students who stood respectfully but did not sing the National Anthem because of their religious convictions.
• The judgment is significant for the relationship between Article 19(1)(a), Article 25 and freedom of conscience.
• It demonstrates that respect for national symbols and compulsory verbal participation are not necessarily identical constitutional requirements.