New Delhi, August 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
In a historic first, the National Song ‘Vande Mataram’ was played in full during the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on Saturday, with the rendition followed by the National Anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
The ceremony, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marked the 150th anniversary year of ‘Vande Mataram’, a song that played a significant role in India’s freedom movement and continues to hold a prominent place in the country’s national consciousness.
As Modi unfurled the National Flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a 21-gun salute was 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 helicopter carried the National Flag, while the other carried a flag bearing the words ‘Vande Mataram’.
Addressing the nation, Modi highlighted the significance of the rendition, saying it was the first time since Independence that ‘Vande Mataram’ had 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 Independence Day on Friday.
The rendition at the Red Fort was followed by the National Anthem, making it a significant feature of this year’s 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 extends the same legal protection to ‘Vande Mataram’ as is provided to the National Anthem. Under the amended law, deliberate disruption of or obstruction to the singing of the National Song can attract penalties, including imprisonment, a fine, or both.
In her Independence Day-eve address, Murmu recalled the song’s contribution to the freedom struggle, saying that during the Swadeshi Movement, ‘Vande Mataram’ became a song of the masses.
‘Vande Mataram’ was initially composed independently and was later incorporated into Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel ‘Anandamath’. Rabindranath Tagore first sang it at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta, now Kolkata.
According to a government note titled ‘150 Years of Vande Mataram: A Melody That Became a Movement’, the phrase ‘Vande Mataram’ was first used as a political slogan on August 7, 1905.
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