Invitation cards issued by the Defence Ministry for this year's Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort include the lyrics of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, reflecting the Centre's renewed emphasis on the national song as it prepares for the 80th Independence Day celebrations.
Officials said the song will be played during the national ceremony for the first time, before the national anthem is sung following the hoisting of the Tricolour by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The invitation cards, sent to Union ministers, senior military officers, bureaucrats, diplomats, students and distinguished guests from various fields, also carry a list of the Fundamental Duties and an image of Seva Teerth, the complex housing the Prime Minister's Office, the National Security Council Secretariat and the Cabinet Secretariat.
The move comes months after Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which accorded the national song the same legal status as the national anthem. The amended law makes insulting or obstructing the singing of Vande Mataram a punishable offence carrying imprisonment of up to three years, along with a fine.
The government has also made the rendition of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram mandatory, replacing the decades-old practice of singing only the first two stanzas that were adopted as the national song in 1950.
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According to officials, the lyrics have been printed on the invitation cards to encourage guests to participate in the rendition during the ceremony.
"People know the national anthem by heart, but few can sing the national song. The lyrics have been provided so that people can sing along," an official said.
The initiative follows a series of events organised this year to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. The 77th Republic Day celebrations were also centred on the same theme, with tableaux presented by ministries and states highlighting the song's historical significance.
The Indian Army has additionally organised military band performances at 18 locations across the country to mark the milestone, including Naihati in West Bengal, the birthplace of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who composed Vande Mataram in the 1870s.
Last year's Independence Day celebrations highlighted the success of Operation Sindoor following India's military strikes on terror and military targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Pahalgam terror attack. This year's ceremony is expected to place Vande Mataram at the centre of the national celebrations.
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