Vande Mataram To Be Performed At Red Fort For First Time On August 15, After PM Modi’s Speech

Vande Mataram will be performed at the Red Fort on August 15 for the first time as part of the official Independence Day programme, according to a Defence Ministry official. At the conclusion of the Prime Minister’s speech, it will be performed right before the national anthem.

Just over a week has passed since Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which gives Vande Mataram the same protection as the national anthem under the 1971 law.

Bill Proposes Jail Term For Repeat Offenders

The Bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on July 24, imposes a minimum one-year jail sentence for a second conviction and a maximum three-year imprisonment, fine, or both for intentionally stopping the singing of the national song or disrupting an assembly that is participating in it. The Bill is currently awaiting the President’s approval.

The entire Red Fort programme has not yet been made public. An NCC choir has sung patriotic songs earlier in the morning before the Prime Minister’s arrival, and in recent years, the ceremony has ended with NCC cadets singing Jana Gana Mana following his speech.

For the song, the government has already cited an Independence Day precedent.

Government Cites 1947 Vande Mataram Precedent

In response, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai stated that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had requested that Pandit Omkarnath Thakur perform the entire Vande Mataram on All India Radio at 6:30 am on August 15, 1947, to commemorate the start of India’s first Independence Day.

The government has not stated whether the Red Fort celebration will include a longer version or only the two stanzas that are used nationally; therefore, his reference to the full rendition assumes significance.