On Vande Mataram, a law in search of a crime
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Context
The Parliament has passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which criminalizes insults to the national song 'Vande Mataram', making it punishable by up to three years' imprisonment. The editorial argues this amendment is superfluous, creates a potential tool for misuse by prosecutorial machinery, and contradicts the government's stated goal of reducing criminalization and judicial burden.
UPSC Perspectives
Polity
This amendment directly intersects with the Fundamental Duties outlined in of the Constitution, which mandates citizens to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag, and the National Anthem. Interestingly, 'Vande Mataram' is a national song, not the national anthem, and its legal protection under the has historically been less explicit than the anthem or flag. The original 1971 Act was enacted to give legal teeth to this Directive Principle of State Policy (referring broadly to the ideals of the Constitution, though fundamentally it aligns more with Duties introduced later in 1976). UPSC often tests the enforceability of Fundamental Duties. While duties themselves are not directly enforceable, Parliament can enact laws to enforce them, as seen here. Candidates should analyze the balance between enforcing patriotism through punitive measures and the freedom of speech and expression under , questioning whether criminalizing an 'insult' to a song passes the test of reasonable restrictions under .
Governance
The editorial highlights a critical issue in Indian governance: over-criminalization and its impact on the criminal justice system. The data from the shows a massive disparity between arrests (1,102) and convictions (60) under the 1971 Act over a decade. This low conviction rate indicates that the law is often used as a tool for harassment rather than securing justice, leading to unnecessary pre-trial detention and burdening the courts. This trend contradicts the government's broader decriminalization agenda, as seen in the , which aims to remove criminal penalties for minor economic offenses to promote ease of doing business and reduce judicial backlog. The state being a litigant in over half of pending cases is a major bottleneck in judicial efficiency. UPSC candidates should connect this specific amendment to broader debates on police reform, prosecutorial overreach, and the need for minimum government, maximum governance.
Ethics
From an ethical standpoint, this issue raises questions about the nature of patriotism and the role of the state in enforcing reverence. Can respect be legislated? The editorial suggests that using a 'blunt instrument' of punitive legislation to enforce respect for national symbols represents a failure of moral persuasion and civic education. Furthermore, the potential for misuse of such laws to target political opponents or dissenting voices raises significant concerns about integrity and probity within the law enforcement and prosecutorial machinery. If a law is selectively applied or used primarily for intimidation, it violates the principles of justice and fairness. For GS Paper 4, candidates could use this as a case study to discuss the ethical limits of state power in mandating cultural reverence versus the individual's right to non-conformity, exploring concepts like constitutional morality.