India’s Rajya Sabha passes a bill that makes insulting “Vande Mataram” a criminal offence. Both reports say the legislation is intended to provide statutory protection to the national song “Vande Mataram” on par with the existing protection for the national anthem “Jana Gana Mana.” According to NDTV, the bill is introduced in the House on July 24 and is presented as extending the legal framework governing offences related to the national anthem to “Vande Mataram.” India Today also reports that the measure is passed in the Rajya Sabha and that it criminalizes acts of insult toward the song. The reporting does not provide further details on the specific legal provisions or penalties included in the bill, nor does it describe timelines for passage in other legislative stages. The key point across the two sources is that the Rajya Sabha clears the measure and that the bill’s central purpose is to elevate “Vande Mataram” to the same level of legal protection as “Jana Gana Mana.”