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Vande Mataram was recognised as India’s National Song on 24 January 1950, when Constituent Assembly President Dr. Rajendra Prasad said it should be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana, which he named the National Anthem. The statement cited the song’s historic role in India’s freedom struggle; the Government of India says the Assembly adopted it.
What happened on 24 January 1950?
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of the Constituent Assembly, made a statement assigning distinct roles to the two compositions. It named Jana Gana Mana as the National Anthem and said that Vande Mataram, because it had played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, should be honoured equally and have equal status. The Government of India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) says the statement was adopted and describes Vande Mataram as adopted as the National Song. PIB, “Vande Mataram: Press Note Details” (2025)
“The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it.”
This is the documented basis for calling Vande Mataram the National Song. The statement gives the historical reason for its recognition, but does not set out a detailed account of why the Assembly assigned the two compositions different roles.
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- Format: Sheet
- Version: Piano/Vocal/Chords
- Instrument: Piano/Vocal/Chords
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- Category: Sheet
How did the song become associated with the freedom struggle?
The Government of India’s 2025 backgrounder traces the song from literature into public and political life:
- 7 November 1875: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s composition first appeared in the literary journal Bangadarshan.
- 1882: Chatterjee incorporated the song into his novel Anandamath.
- 1896: Rabindranath Tagore set the song to music and first sang it at the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta, according to the backgrounder.
- 7 August 1905: The words were first used as a political slogan, according to the same account.
This chronology helps explain the song’s historic association with the freedom struggle, the reason stated in 1950. It should not be taken as a fuller explanation of the Assembly’s deliberations than the official statement provides. PIB, “150 Years of Vande Mataram: A Melody That Became a Movement” (6 November 2025)
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- Pages: 8
- Instrumentation: Guitar
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What is the difference between the National Song and the National Anthem?
In the 1950 statement, the titles are not presented as competing choices: Jana Gana Mana is named the National Anthem, while Vande Mataram is to have equal status and be honoured equally. The PIB describes the adopted statement as recognising Vande Mataram as the National Song. The distinction is therefore between the roles assigned to two national compositions, not a claim that one is more important than the other. The Ministry of Home Affairs also described the equal-status statement in a 2017 official reply. PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, “Conduct of National Anthem and National Song” (20 December 2017)
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- P/V/G
- Pages: 80
- Instrumentation: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
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- Format: Book
- Version: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
- Instrument: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
- Genre: Contemporary Christian; Sacred
- Category: P/V/C Mixed Folio
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