Owaisi Objects to Equal Protection for Vande Mataram, Cites Secular Principles

Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday objected to the Union Cabinet’s decision to extend statutory protection to “Vande Mataram” on par with the national anthem “Jana Gana Mana”, saying the national song cannot be treated at the same level as the anthem in a secular republic.

The AIMIM president said “Jana Gana Mana” represents India and its people without invoking any particular religion, while “Vande Mataram” contains imagery linked to a goddess. In a post on X, Owaisi said the nation “does not run in the name of a god or goddess” and belongs equally to all citizens.

Referring to constitutional principles, he noted that the Preamble begins with “We, the People” and guarantees liberty of belief, faith and worship. He also cited Article 1 of the Constitution, which describes “India, that is Bharat” as a Union of States.

Owaisi further referred to debates in the Constituent Assembly, claiming proposals to invoke God or a goddess in the Preamble were rejected by the framers of the Constitution. He also said several leaders of the freedom movement, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and Subhas Chandra Bose, had reservations about treating “Vande Mataram” as the national anthem.

The controversy follows the Union Cabinet’s approval of an amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, making obstruction to the singing of “Vande Mataram” a punishable offence and extending its protections similar to those accorded to the national anthem.

Responding to Owaisi’s remarks, N Ramchander Rao criticised the AIMIM chief and accused his party of opposing cultural integration and national cohesion. Rao said “Vande Mataram” was a historic symbol of the freedom movement and described opposition to it as politically motivated. He alleged that the party’s stand on issues such as Vande Mataram , the Uniform Civil Code and triple talaq reflected vote-bank politics.

BJP leader Rohan Gupta also criticised Owaisi’s stand, saying religion should not be linked to a national song or anthem. “Vande Mataram is the country’s song, and when Congress sessions used to happen, the complete ‘Vande Mataram’ was sung for years without objection,” Gupta said.

He added that every Indian must place the country above religion and alleged that “politics of appeasement” was encouraging people to prioritise religion over national identity.