Vande Mataram sung at Red Fort for first time since independence

For the first time since independence, Vande Mataram was rendered from the ramparts of the Red Fort during the 80th Independence Day celebrations on Saturday. The Times of India reports that the rendition marked 150 years of the national song. Around 5,000 special guests, including NCC cadets, MY Bharat volunteers, women entrepreneurs, and welfare scheme beneficiaries, attended the ceremony. Home minister Amit Shah called the moment historic and said it gave him goosebumps.

The Hindustan Times reports that an Army band played Vande Mataram while guests sang, followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisting the national flag and the national anthem. A 21-gun salute using indigenous 105mm Light Field Guns was synchronised with the anthem. Two Mi-17 helicopters showered flower petals, one carrying the national flag and the other a flag depicting Vande Mataram. Rain clouds cleared just minutes into the PM's address.

The Times of India also reports that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said in Nagpur that democracy allows room for divergent viewpoints, but such expression must not harm the Constitution or the country's social and cultural fabric. He said difference is an expression of unity.