The Union government has listed a bill to give the national song Vande Mataram the same statutory protection as the national anthem and the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 for the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning July 20. The session will run till August 13.
According to a bulletin of the Lok Sabha secretariat, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 stands listed for introduction, consideration and passing in both Houses. The bill seeks to amend the 1971 Act, which currently protects the National Flag, the Constitution and the National Anthem, and sources indicated that the government intends to bring wilful insult to the national song, or obstruction of its singing, within the ambit of punishable offences.
The proposal comes months after Home Ministry directives mandating that all six stanzas of the national song be sung at official functions, preceding Jana Gana Mana, drew opposition from church bodies, particularly in the North East. The Nagaland Baptist Church Council refused any compulsory singing, while the Naga People’s Front, the Naga Students’ Federation and the Chakhesang Baptist Church Council described the directive as a threat to Nagaland’s Christian-majority faith and the protections under Article 371(A). At a mass rally in Kohima on March 16, the Catholic Association of Nagaland argued that the song’s verses invoke Hindu deities in a devotional manner, something it said certain communities cannot reconcile with their faith.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India, in a statement issued on March 18 titled “Affirmation of National Identity and Freedom of Conscience”, expressed “full and unreserved respect” for Jana Gana Mana while noting that concerns regarding several verses of Vande Mataram have long been acknowledged in national life “particularly in view of their devotional imagery”. The statement, signed by General Secretary Rev. Vijayesh Lal, said expressions of patriotism carry their deepest meaning when “freely embraced, in a manner that respects the faith and conscience of all”.
The FCRA Amendment Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, did not come up for passage during the Budget Session, ostensibly due to opposition from certain quarters in Kerala ahead of the state assembly elections. It provides for a designated authority and a comprehensive framework for the “vesting, supervision, management and disposal” of foreign contributions and assets of organisations whose FCRA registrations expire, lapse or face cancellation, while mandating that the religious character of places of worship be preserved. The bill empowers the government to seize and permanently acquire the assets of non-compliant organisations. The 2020 amendment had already capped administrative expenses from foreign contributions at 25 per cent, down from 50 per cent.
Church leaders have twice met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the bill, in recent weeks. On July 5, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma led a delegation comprising the North East India Christian Council, the Presbyterian Church of India, the Garo Baptist Convention and the Catholic Church in Meghalaya, which presented a memorandum pressing for a balanced approach to the proposed changes. The NEICC later called the meeting “positive and constructive”, with Shah reportedly assuring the group that the ministry would examine its concerns. On July 10, a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India led by its president, Cardinal Anthony Poola, urged Shah to withdraw the bill and the recently notified rules, warning that certain provisions could hurt charitable institutions serving the poor. The bishops also asked that the term “proselytisation”, which they said the rules leave undefined, be dropped. Shah is learnt to have assured the bishops that the amendments would not apply retrospectively and were not directed against the Christian community.
Other bills listed include the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, under which registrations delayed beyond two years would require the order of a first-class judicial magistrate, the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, which replaces the UGC, AICTE and NCTE with a unified regulator, the Income-tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026 to replace the ordinance exempting foreign investors from tax on government securities, the MSME Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which follows an ordinance that increased the strength of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37.
The Congress and other opposition parties plan to raise the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, the NEET-UG paper leaks, E20 fuel and foreign policy during the session.
