The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has strongly objected to the Union Government’s alleged decision to grant “Vande Mataram” a status equal to the National Anthem “Jana Gana Mana,” make all six stanzas of the song mandatory, and require its recitation before the National Anthem in government and educational institutions. The Board has described the move as being against the basic spirit of the Constitution, religious freedom, secularism, and India’s pluralistic traditions, and has demanded that the government immediately withdraw the decision.
Board spokesperson Dr. S. Q. R. Ilyas, in an official press statement, said that the decision is not only unconstitutional and undemocratic but also contrary to the country’s religious and cultural diversity and constitutional values. He said that a secular state cannot impose the religious beliefs or concepts of any one community on the entire nation.
Dr. Ilyas stated that several stanzas of “Vande Mataram” include praise and invocation of Goddess Durga and other deities, which contradicts the Islamic principle of Tawheed (the oneness of God). Islam permits worship only of Allah, the One without any partner, and rejects any form of shirk (associating partners with God). Therefore, forcing Muslims to recite it would violate their religious rights.
He further said that in 1937, on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore, the Congress itself decided that only the first two stanzas of “Vande Mataram” should be used publicly, as the later stanzas were religious in nature and not acceptable to all communities. Taking this historical context into account, the Constituent Assembly in 1950 also recognized only the first two stanzas as the “National Song.”
The AIMPLB alleged that making all six stanzas mandatory now would be a departure from this historical consensus and described it as an “inciting and dangerous step.” The Board said that national unity and integrity cannot be strengthened through coercion or religious majoritarianism, but only through respect for the Constitution, mutual harmony, and protection of religious freedom.
The Board urged the central government to avoid using sensitive religious issues for political purposes and to refrain from decisions that could harm communal harmony and national unity.
It also warned that if the government does not withdraw the decision immediately, the Board will be compelled to challenge it in court.
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