Vande Mataram to open ceremony before national anthem for ‘first time’ this Independence Day at Red Fort
New Delhi: For nearly eight decades, the Red Fort has been the stage from which independent India has heard its Prime Ministers speak to the nation. This Independence Day, however, another voice from the freedom struggle will take centre stage. On August 15, 2026, ‘Vande Mataram’ will be sung from the ramparts of the historic monument for the first time as part of the official Independence Day ceremony – a move timed with the 150th anniversary celebrations of the iconic national song.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead India’s 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort. According to Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, ‘Vande Mataram’ will be performed immediately after the Prime Minister arrives at the ramparts. The national flag will then be unfurled, followed by the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
Why ‘Vande Mataram’ at Red Fort is significant
The decision comes as India marks 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875. The song first appeared in the literary journal Bangadarshan and later became part of his novel Anandamath. It went on to become one of the most powerful cultural symbols of India’s freedom movement.
The government launched a year-long national commemoration of its 150th anniversary in November 2025. The celebrations have included mass singing, cultural programmes and military-band performances across the country. ‘Vande Mataram’ was also central to the theme of the 2026 Republic Day celebrations.
Its appearance at the Red Fort therefore links the song’s freedom-struggle legacy with the country’s principal Independence Day ceremony.
What will happen on August 15
The Defence Ministry has planned a ceremony built around both the national song’s 150-year journey and the contribution of young Indians.
More than 27,000 dignitaries, visitors and students are expected to attend. Around 2,500 NCC cadets and My Bharat volunteers will form the words ‘वंदे मातरम्’ on Gyanpath opposite the Red Fort ramparts. An Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter will carry a banner commemorating 150 years of the song and shower flower petals over the gathering.
The celebrations will also spotlight the theme ‘Yuva Shakti: Leading the journey to Viksit Bharat @2047’. Among those invited are 19 Indian students who won medals at the 2026 International Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematical Olympiads, along with more than 500 Delhi government-school students.
Why Vande Mataram has remained sensitive subject
The government’s claim is specifically that ‘Vande Mataram’ will be sung from the ramparts as part of the Independence Day ceremony for the first time. This is important because the song has obviously been performed at the Red Fort and featured in Independence Day-related events before.
Recent political comments have questioned the wording of the “first time” claim. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, for instance, disputed the assertion and pointed to the song’s long association with the Congress and India’s freedom movement.
However, this does not contradict the narrower official claim about its first inclusion in the formal Red Fort Independence Day sequence. The Defence Ministry has explicitly placed the performance immediately after the Prime Minister’s arrival and before the flag-hoisting and national anthem.
‘Vande Mataram’ occupies a unique position in India’s national life. The Constituent Assembly accorded it equal honour and status alongside the national anthem in 1950. Historically, however, only its first two stanzas came to be used at national gatherings. A 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution recommended this practice amid concerns over religious imagery in the later portions of the original composition.
The issue resurfaced in 2026 after the Centre introduced protocols for the national song, including provisions for singing all six stanzas at official functions. That decision triggered political and social debate.
Against that backdrop, the decision to open the 2026 Red Fort ceremony with ‘Vande Mataram’ carries significance beyond symbolism. It is simultaneously a tribute to a 150-year-old freedom-era composition, a new addition to the country’s most watched Independence Day ritual, and another chapter in the long-running debate over how India remembers and represents its nationalist past.