Congress Legislature Party leader Pradeep Yadav has urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to allow only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram to be sung at government programmes, official functions and school assemblies in Jharkhand, citing the examples of Karnataka and Kerala.
In a letter to Soren, Yadav said the opening two stanzas focus on the beauty and glory of the motherland and do not contain specific religious imagery, making them more acceptable to people of different faiths in a secular and diverse country.
Yadav opposed what he described as recent guidelines requiring all six stanzas of the national song to be sung at official programmes and school assemblies. He argued that making the complete song compulsory could hurt the sentiments of sections of India’s religiously diverse population.
The Congress leader cited the freedom movement and Constituent Assembly proceedings to support his position. He claimed that in 1937, leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel supported the use of the first two stanzas.
He also referred to the Constituent Assembly’s January 24, 1950 proceedings, saying Dr Rajendra Prasad declared Vande Mataram the national song and placed it on a footing equivalent to Jana Gana Mana.
Yadav alleged that the move to make all six stanzas compulsory was politically motivated. He also criticised the RSS and the ruling establishment over their historical role in the freedom struggle.
Citing Karnataka and Kerala, he urged Jharkhand to adopt a similar policy and issue directions limiting official recitals to the first two stanzas, saying this would respect diverse sentiments while strengthening national unity.