Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan has made it clear that the state government will not sing the full version of Vande Mataram at official programmes, despite a circular issued by Chief Secretary Viswanath Sinha directing that all six stanzas be performed during Independence Day-related events. The government, Muraleedharan said, will continue with the existing protocol of singing only the first two stanzas.
The controversy erupted after the Chief Secretary instructed that the complete Vande Mataram be performed at public events organised as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. The directive followed fresh guidelines from the Union government and specific instructions from the Union Ministry of Culture on making the full song mandatory at designated programmes.
The move triggered criticism from the Opposition, which accused the Kerala government of moving further towards compliance with the BJP-led Centre, following the earlier controversy over PM SHRI.
Education Minister N. Shamsudheen defended the circular, claiming that the Chief Secretary was merely forwarding instructions received from Lok Bhavan and that the state government had not independently issued the directive. He also cited the Centre's strict directions and new legal provisions concerning Vande Mataram.
Meanwhile, Lok Bhavan rejected the minister's explanation, creating a fresh embarrassment for the government. It clarified that the instruction to sing all six stanzas was intended for public events held as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, running from Sunday to August 17, and was not a specific Independence Day ceremonial requirement. The directive also reportedly takes into account the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. The Chief Secretary had warned that insulting the song could attract legal consequences and therefore called for strict compliance.
The latest Lok Bhavan clarification directly contradicts Shamsudheen's earlier claim that the Chief Secretary had merely passed on instructions from the Governor's office.
The dispute also revives an earlier confrontation between the government and Governor Rajendra Arlekar over Vande Mataram. Arlekar had formally questioned the Assembly Speaker after the complete song was not sung before the Governor's policy address. The then government had maintained that it would not go beyond the UDF's political position by singing the full version.
The Union guidelines prescribe the sequence: the state song, followed by Vande Mataram, and then the national anthem. Where there is no state song, Vande Mataram should precede the national anthem. The guidelines call for all six stanzas of the original composition to be sung. They also specify a duration of three minutes and 10 seconds for the national anthem and require that its lyrics and notation be followed accurately.
The Union Home Ministry has circulated the guidelines to states and directed them to communicate the instructions to institutions under their jurisdiction.