Amid the row over the Centre's communication mandating the recital of full version of Vande Mataram as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga (HGT) campaign, the Ministry of Women and Child development has directed states to celebrate the campaign with a host of activities which include singing of Vande Mataram in all the child care institutions.

The HGT campaign is being observed across the country from August 9 to 17. Recently, a letter sent by Chief Secretary Biswanath Sinha sparked criticism in Kerala. In the letter, he quoted a communication from the Ministry of Culture stating that all physical celebrations during the campaign period should combine the collective singing of Vande Mataram with the hoisting of the National Flag. It also directed that the Government of India's instructions on the recital of Vande Mataram be followed in full, triggering a controversy.

However, officials had played down the row, terming the move a “technicality”, and said that only the guidelines already issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) needed to be followed. The circular issued by the GAD on Independence Day celebrations however, did not specify anything on the National song. This has led to ambiguity over the protocol to be followed during the celebrations. Ministers have maintained that only two stanzas would be rendered.

While the latest directive issued by the Centre lists various activities, including the collective singing of the national song, it does not specify whether this would involve all six stanzas or only the two stanzas adopted by the Constituent Assembly.

Chief Minister V D Satheesan, meanwhile, did not offer clarity on the matter either, sidestepping questions on the issue during a press conference held on Thursday. “The state government's stand will be clear on Independence Day. The Chief Secretary merely forwarded the letter he received to the LSGD Secretary,” Satheesan said, asserting that the state government and the UDF had their own stance on the issue without explicitly stating what that position was.

The Vande Mataram row erupted in Kerala two days after the President granted assent to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026. The Act expands the scope of penal provisions under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, to cover the National Song, Vande Mataram, alongside the National Anthem.

Under the provisions of the Act, any person who intentionally prevents the singing of the National Anthem or the National Song, or causes a disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing, may be punished with imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.