The Vande Mataram Conundrum: A Test for India's Secular Identity The controversy surrounding Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's decision to play the full version of Vande Mataram at a government event has sparked a heated debate about India's commitment to secularism.
Criticism from the Congress party, an alliance partner in the state, suggests that India's national identity remains a contentious issue.
Omar Abdullah argues that playing the full song is a statutory obligation, rooted in the fact that Vande Mataram was declared the national song of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.