‘Sing Only First Two Stanzas’: M V Govindan’s Vande Mataram Call Sparks Debate

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan on Saturday said only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung, arguing that the later portions contain religious references that could give the national song a communal character.

The remarks came after Vande Mataram was not sung at the official Independence Day function in Thiruvananthapuram, where Chief Minister V D Satheesan hoisted the national flag.

Explaining the CPI(M)’s position, Govindan said the first two stanzas were historically accepted for public and national functions because they celebrate the motherland without the religious imagery found in later portions. The Congress Working Committee had similarly resolved in 1937 that only the first two stanzas should be used at national gatherings, noting objections to religious references in the remaining stanzas.

Govindan said the restriction was necessary to protect secularism and reiterated that the CPI(M)’s demand remained unchanged. The controversy has intensified after the Centre’s 2026 directive on the rendition of the complete six-stanza version at official functions.

The BJP strongly opposed the CPI(M)’s position. The party in Kerala accused those refusing to sing Vande Mataram of insulting the national song and argued that linking it to religion amounted to weakening its national significance.

The issue has also created political friction within Kerala’s Congress-led government. The omission of the song from the Independence Day function followed an earlier controversy over its full rendition during the UDF government’s swearing-in ceremony.

Govindan also accused Sangh Parivar forces of undermining India’s secular, democratic and constitutional values, alleging that groups that had not participated in the freedom movement were now attempting to reshape the country’s political character.

He called for stronger public movements to protect the Constitution, democracy, secularism and media freedom, and urged people across communities to unite in safeguarding the values of the freedom struggle.