Mumbai: A detailed discussion centred on the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ will be a special feature of the two-day Hindi Diwas 2026 and the 6th All India Official Language Conference, which Union Home Minister Amit …

Mumbai: A detailed discussion centred on the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ will be a special feature of the two-day Hindi Diwas 2026 and the 6th All India Official Language Conference, which Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate, coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi.The event will also highlight Hindi’s vibrant relationship with Maharashtra’s rich linguistic, cultural and literary traditions.The Department of Official Language of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been organising All India Official Language Conferences every year since 2021.Karnataka restricts singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ to first 2 stanzas at state eventsThis journey, which began in Varanasi, reaches Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra this year, having passed through Surat, Pune, New Delhi and Gandhinagar.During the inaugural session of the two-day programme, Amit Shah will present the ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav’ and ‘Rajbhasha Kirti’ Awards for 2025–26.Several important books and publications will also be launched during the inaugural and other sessions. These include a special commemorative issue of the Department of Official Language’s journal ‘Rajbhasha Bharati’, centred on the National Song ‘Vande Mataram’; ‘Bharatiya Gyan Tantra: Srot aur Swaroop’; ‘Shiv Anadi Hain, Anant Hain’; and ‘Andheron Se Ujalon Tak’, a compilation of writings by prison inmates.These publications bring forth diverse dimensions of Indian culture, knowledge traditions, literature and creative expression. Books and journals of several other organisations and institutions will also be launched.A special attraction of this year’s conference will be a discussion session centred on the national song.’Vande Mataram’ has not merely been a song, but has been a powerful expression of India’s consciousness of freedom, national self-respect and dedication to the motherland.In this special session, renowned playback singer Hariharan, senior journalist and writer Nilesh Mishra, and Akhilesh Mishra, who is studying ‘Vande Mataram’, will participate in the discussion.In addition, Vande Mataram researcher Milind Prabhakar Sabnis will shed light on the historical, literary and cultural aspects of the song in another session.Shri Joydeep Chattopadhyay will also have a special presence at the programme. He is a fifth-generation descendant of Shri Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the author of ‘Vande Mataram’. His presence will lend special historical and emotional significance to the event.Through these sessions, deliberations will be held on how ‘Vande Mataram’ gave voice to national consciousness in the Indian public mind and how its relevance has continued from the freedom movement to the present day.

Source: Deccan Herald