Nagaland’s NSF asks students to skip I-Day events over Vande Mataram row

An influential students' organization in India's Nagaland state has urged educational institutions to keep students away from Independence Day celebrations this weekend. The Naga Students' Federation (NSF) is protesting the compulsory singing of the national song, Vande Mataram, in its complete version.

The NSF stated that the full rendition of Vande Mataram is not in keeping with India's secular principles. The organization's primary concern is the mandatory participation of students in singing the song, particularly when its devotional and religious imagery may conflict with the sincerely held beliefs of students from non-Hindu communities. India, as a secular democratic republic, guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, the NSF emphasized.

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India as a secular democratic republic, its Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. No student should therefore be compelled to participate in any religiously sensitive expression contrary to his or her sincerely held beliefs.

This directive follows the Union home ministry's January 2026 communication that outlined a protocol for the national song's observance at official events, including its performance before the national anthem. The NSF is invoking constitutional safeguards under Article 371A, which protects the religious and social practices of the Naga people. The federation aims to ensure that no student faces disciplinary action, discrimination, or academic consequences for declining to participate in Vande Mataram on grounds of conscience or religious belief.

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Accordingly, all Federating Units and Sub-ordinate Bodies are notified to enforce this position to concerned schools and institutions within their respective jurisdictions and to ensure that no student is subjected to disciplinary action, discrimination, intimidation or academic consequences for declining to participate in Vande Mataram on grounds of conscience or religious belief.