President Droupadi Murmu has given assent to Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Parliament had passed the Bill last month, amending the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. The legislation seeks to give national song Vande Mataram the same statutory protection as the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The bill has become a law following the President’s assent.
The Act extends the protections under Section 3 to Vande Mataram, placing it on the same legal footing as the National Anthem. It makes it an offence to intentionally prevent its singing or to disturb an assembly engaged in singing it.
