Nagaland Church Body Opposes ‘Vande Mataram’ Rendition at Independence Day Events
New Delhi: The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has opposed the Union government’s order mandating a rendition of the full version of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ at official events to mark India's Independence Day.
In a statement on Thursday (August 14), the NBCC said that patriotism should arise from willing participation and not compulsion. It also objected any directive or practice that seeks to compel citizens, particularly Christians, the Hindu has reported.
“National unity cannot be strengthened by compelling citizens to participate in an expression that, for reasons of faith or conscience, they may not be able to embrace,” the NBCC statement said.
The Union government on August 10 issued "instructions" for states and Union Territories on marking Independence Day with rendition of the national song included in the itenerary for the first time.
Assam Tribune has quoted the NBCC statement as saying that coercion may result in "outward compliance but cannot create genuine loyalty, conviction or a sense of belonging".
It has called instead for dialogue, mutual understanding, accommodation and respect for conscientious objection and appealed to the government, educational institutions, student organisations, churches, civil society groups and the wider public to approach the issue with "wisdom, restraint and constitutional sensitivity".
In March, the Nagaland legislative assembly referred the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ mandate to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ on official occasions to a select committee of the House to examine its applicability in the state.
The move had come after a ten-page directive was issued by the Union home ministry on January 28, which mandated that a six-stanza-long, three-minute and ten-seconds version of ‘Vande Mataram’ be played or sung on official occasions, including during the unfurling of the Indian flag, arrival of the president at events, before and after the president’s speeches and addresses to the nation, and before and after the arrival and speeches of governors.
In February, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), an influential student body in the northeast, also raised an objection to the directive and had appealed to the Nagaland Board of School Education to refrain from issuing any circulars, notifications or instructions enforcing this protocol within its jurisdiction.
Last month, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, that makes any insult to the national song 'Vande Mataram' a punishable offence, was passed by parliament with little debate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah sang the national song on the last day of the Monsoon Session of parliament this week, for the first time after passing this law.
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