The National Song "Vande Mataram" shall be played and sung in all government offices and institutions.

Singing of Vande Mataram at least once a week has been made mandatory in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions by the Madras High Court.

The issue pertains to a case filed by Veeramani who lost the state recruitment board exam by a mark as he answered Bengali for the question on the language of 'Vande Mataram' while the answer key said that it was written in Sanskrit. Opposing his submission, Veeramani approached the Madras High Court and sought clarity on whether 'Vande Mataram' was written in Sanskrit or Bengali.

On June 13, Advocate General R Muthukumarasamy clarified that the original language of 'Vande Mataram' was Sanskrit but written in Bengali.

Following which, the court decided to award Veeramani the one mark he had lost in the exam.

Here is an excerpt of the order passed by the Chennai High Court:

The National Song "Vande Mataram" shall be played and sung in all schools/colleges/Universities and other educational institutions atleast once a week (Preferably on Monday or Friday).

The National Song "Vande Mataram" shall be played and sung in all government offices and institutions/ private companies/ factories and industries at least once a month.

The Director of Public Information is directed to upload and circulate the translated version of "Vande Mataram" in Tamil and English thereby making it available in the government websites and also in social media.

Let a copy of this order be marked to the chief secretary of the government of Tamil Nadu, who shall issue appropriate instructions to the concerned authorities.

In the event, any person/organisation has difficulty in singing or playing the National Song, he or she shall not be compelled or forced to sing it, provided there are valid reasons for not doing so.

The youth of this country are the future of tomorrow. This court hopes and trusts that this order shall be taken in the right spirit and also implemented in letter and spirit by the citizenry of this great nation.

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