Chennai- The State Platform for Common School System, Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) has written an open letter to the President of India, urging her to advise the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to withdraw its recent order on the National Song "Vande Mataram". The letter, dated February 18 from Chennai, is signed by General Secretary P. B. Prince Gajendra Babu and references the MHA order which mandates the full six-stanza version of the song (lasting about 3 minutes and 10 seconds) at official events, including in schools, with the requirement to stand in attention, and to play or sing it before the National Anthem when performed together.

In the letter, SPCSS-TN argues that the order undermines parliamentary democracy, violates the Constitution's vision, and contravenes fundamental rights. It highlights the Preamble's emphasis on India as a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic, guaranteeing freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, conscience, and the right to profess, practice, and propagate religion (Articles 14, 21, and 25). The group cites Article 13, which voids laws inconsistent with fundamental rights, and defines "law" to include orders and notifications.

SPCSS-TN stresses that sovereignty rests with the people, who pledge allegiance only to the Constitution, not to any leader or ideology. It asserts that the Constitution keeps the state secular and separate from religion, and that forcing recitation of all six stanzas, beyond the first two adopted as the National Song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950, imposes individual faith on others, contrary to India's pluralism and the freedom struggle's spirit.

The letter notes that the first two stanzas of "Vande Mataram", praising Mother India in a pluralistic sense, are sung voluntarily across India without compulsion and command natural reverence. It recalls historical contexts, such as the song's use during the freedom movement (only the first stanza sung on August 15, 1947 midnight), alongside other songs like "Sare Jahan Se Achcha" and "Jana Gana Mana". It contrasts this with slogans like "Inquilab Zindabad", which inspire without force, and questions compelling figures like Shaheed Bhagat Singh (an atheist) to respect verses symbolizing a particular deity.

SPCSS-TN emphasizes that schools must remain secular spaces, and children should not be compelled to recite verses linked to any religious symbolism. It objects only to the last four stanzas, which reflect an individual's faith from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's novel, not the collective freedom movement against foreign rule.

The organization requests the President, as the guardian of the Constitution, to direct the MHA to withdraw the order. It warns that if not withdrawn, citizens may deem it unenforceable to uphold constitutional principles. SPCSS-TN declares it will respect and salute only the first two stanzas as the National Song and will not stand for the others if forcibly recited. It calls on the people to reject the order in favor of "Unity in Diversity", urges the Tamil Nadu government and other states to declare it unenforceable, and appeals for resolutions in state assemblies against it.