Abdullahs stand for full Vande Mataram weeks after Congress objects

While Congress has stuck to its 1937 resolution limiting Vande Mataram to two stanzas, its INDIA bloc ally NC leaders Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah stood through all six stanzas at a Srinagar film festival. Their contrasting positions drew attention amid the ongoing political row over the national song.Abdullahs stand for full Vande Mataram weeks after Sonia’s objectionJust as Sonia Gandhi objected to the playing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters in Delhi during Independence Day celebrations, her INDIA bloc ally, NC leaders Omar Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, stood for the entire song at the inaugural International Film Festival in Srinagar.The Abdullahs were seen standing throughout the song’s full three-minute-and-10-second duration, in line with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ new guidelines.A controversy around the national song first erupted when Congress leader Sonia Gandhi objected to the full rendition and was visibly furious, signalling for it to be stopped as soon as she realised the singers had gone beyond the first two stanzas. The truncated version was adopted following a 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution, with the party saying the move was aimed at maintaining communal harmony.As the row gathered pace, Congress went on to defy the Centre's new guidelines and stuck to its 1937 resolution at official party functions and programmes, adding fuel to the fire. Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the party of further strengthening its appeasement politics. "Yesterday, the Congress Working Committee took an anti-national decision. Following its 1937 resolution, Congress decided to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. I want to remind the nation that in 1937, by dividing Vande Mataram for the appeasement of Muslims, Congress laid the foundation for the partition of the country," Shah had said a day after the Congress's decision to stick to the 1937 resolution.However, the Congress's all-weather ally, the NC, choosing to stand for the full length of Vande Mataram before the national anthem at the film festival caught everyone's attention. Some pointed out that while there is confusion in Delhi over how the national song should be sung, there appears to be no such confusion in the Valley. "While Delhi debates how much of Vande Mataram should be sung, Kashmir seems to have settled the matter rather effortlessly - the full song, followed by the full anthem. No debate, no drama, no fuel for the idiot-box. Just music," journalist Zafar Choudhary said, pointing to a video showing the Abdullahs standing in the front row during the song.Many other users chimed in, pointing out that there was no confusion in Delhi, but only among members of a particular party, taking a dig at Congress. Others praised the NC for standing for the entire song.The development at the inaugural film festival in Srinagar last evening has now added a new dimension to the Vande Mataram row, with the contrasting positions of Congress and the NC drawing attention to the INDIA bloc's differing approaches to the national song.- EndsPublished By: Sayan GangulyPublished On: Sep 8, 2026 18:31 IST