image for representation
| Photo Credit: Venkatachalapathy C.
The Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony at Kozhikode Corporation in Kerala on Saturday witnessed unusual scenes when two groups of councillors sang the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, and the national song, Vande Mataram, simultaneously.
The ceremony began around 9.30 am outside the Corporation office near the Kozhikode beach. Mayor O. Sadasivan announced the national anthem after hoisting the flag and delivering his Independence Day address.
As the Mayor and councillors from the CPI(M)-led ruling front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) began singing Jana Gana Mana, BJP councillors, about 13 of them, started singing the full version of Vande Mataram. Both groups persisted despite the resulting confusion.
The Mayor and other councillors completed the national anthem and departed, while the BJP councillors continued singing Vande Mataram.
BJP councillor T. Raneesh later said the party had notified the Mayor in advance that its councillors would sing Vande Mataram. He alleged that singing both songs simultaneously “disrespected both.”
“We had informed the Mayor earlier that BJP councillors would sing Vande Mataram at the function. There is nothing wrong with singing the national song during an Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony,” Mr. Raneesh said.
However, Deputy Mayor S. Jayasree criticised the BJP councillors for singing over the national anthem. She noted that the Corporation has traditionally sung Jana Gana Mana during the ceremony, adding that the national song could have followed afterwards.
The incident unfolded amid a wider political debate over the Union government’s Har Ghar Tiranga campaign and the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. The Union Ministry of Culture had directed that physical events held between August 9 and 17 under the campaign include collective singing of Vande Mataram alongside the flag-hoisting.
(The writer, Aleesha V. Joseph, is an intern with The Hindu)
Published – August 15, 2026 02:07 pm IST
