Shillong, Mar 7: North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum has expressed strong opposition to a directive issued by the Meghalaya government, which mandates that the full-length version of the national song, Vande Mataram, be played or sung at official government functions.
Nongrum submitted a letter highlighting his objections to Chief Secretary Dr. Shakil P. Ahammed. He pointed out that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, were officially recognised and adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.
Nongrum noted that the Constitution of India does not explicitly mention a National Song, and therefore the recent instruction directing the full version to be played or sung at official functions raises an anomaly.
He urged the Meghalaya government to reconsider the directive and ensure that only the two officially adopted stanzas are performed at official events.
