New Delhi:
In a first ever instance at an international sporting event, national song Vande Mataram was played before start of India’s first T20 International against Afghanistan in the Capital on Sunday.
All six stanzas of the national song were played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium before the start of the match.
News agency PTI, quoting BCCI sources, reported that Vande Mataram will henceforth be played before the start of the first match of every home series.
The rendition of the national song, however, has once again irked the main Opposition party, the Congress, which has been opposing the playing of all six stanzas.
Party leader Udit Raj questioned the logic of it. “What is the point of this without any reason? Will it create employment? Will it make the Indian team stronger? Or will it help us gain an advantage in science and technology, where we are far behind? Our exports are down, and the debt of this country is increasing so much. What about the problems of Gen Z? There are severe problems. Will this solve them? They are only trying to create a narrative,” Udit Raj said.
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The Congress party recently passed a resolution at its Working Committee meet to stick to the two-stanzas of the national song at the party event citing its 1937 resolution.
The first two stanzas of Vande Mataram was chosen as the national song in 1937 by the Indian National Congress while the Constituent Assembly of India recognized it as the ‘National Song’ since 1950.
On February 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines governing the rendition of Vande Mataram as part of the 150th-anniversary commemorations of the national song.
The guidelines prescribed an official rendition lasting 3 minutes and 10 seconds and required everyone present to stand with attention while the song was being played.
#BREAKING | Vande Mataram sung first before National Anthem at IND vs AFG T20 Match@deepduttajourno brings you more details pic.twitter.com/JVZ3OjbRag
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 14, 2026
They also approved the rendition of the complete six-stanza version at formal government functions attended by the President or Governors, before and after presidential addresses broadcast on radio and television, when the National Flag is brought on parade, and on other similar occasions.
The Congress recently also had a back and forth with its Jammu and Kashmir ally National Conference when full Vande Mataram was played at a film fest in Srinagar where Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were in attendance.
The BJP has slammed Congress’ opposition to full Vande Mataram as reflective of its appeasement politics and “Muslim League mindset”.
