NEW DELHI: The Centre has directed all states and Union Territories to strictly adhere to the prescribed script and pronunciation while singing or playing the national song and the national anthem.
In a letter issued on Thursday to state chief secretaries and UT administrators, the Union home ministry also laid down the sequence to be followed when a state song is performed alongside the national song and the national anthem.
According to the ministry, if a state song is included at an official function or ceremony, the national song must be performed first, followed immediately by the national anthem. The state song cannot be played or sung between the two. Consequently, the prescribed order will be: state song, national song and then the national anthem.
The ministry also instructed that the national song should be rendered in its complete form, comprising all six stanzas, and that the officially prescribed script and pronunciation for both the national song and the national anthem must be followed.
It said the authorised script and diction are available on the ministry’s official portal and asked states and UTs to issue appropriate directions to all institutions and organisations under their jurisdiction to ensure strict compliance.
