Vande Mataram and the right to dissent
This article examines the legal and historical status of the song 'Vande Mataram' in India, contrasting political rhetoric with constitutional reality. It argues that the song lacks the formal status of a national anthem and that individual conscience remains protected under existing legal precedents.
Why it matters
It provides a critical legal and historical perspective on national symbols and the limits of state-mandated patriotism.
Parliament has given Vande Mataram the same criminal-law protection long enjoyed by the national anthem. But a closer look at the Constituent Assembly’s own reasoning, the actual text of the new law, and the Supreme Court’s judgment in Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala ( 1986) suggests that the position is far less settled and far more protective of individual conscience than the political rhetoric around the amendment implies.
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