5 min readAug 23, 2026 02:33 PM IST First published on: Aug 23, 2026 at 02:32 PM ISTIs the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decision to have the party sing only two stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ instead of the whole national song a “Shah Bano”-like moment in India’s national life?In 1985, the Supreme Court essentially decided that civil law would prevail over Muslim personal law in cases of maintenance of divorced, destitute Muslim women. A large section of the Muslims protested against the decision. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was the unchallenged leader of the country, having won over 400 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was reduced to only two seats. Rajiv Gandhi decided to give preference to Muslim personal law and, through legislation, overturned the Court’s decision. That gave a shot in the arm to the BJP’s old charge of the Congress constantly “appeasing” the minorities at the cost of the majority community. It used the opening given by Gandhi’s decision to mount a massive campaign, which morphed into the agitation for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Ironically, it was the Congress itself that had the doors unlocked for a better darshan of Ram Lalla.AdvertisementIn 1985, Rajiv Gandhi was riding high. Perhaps he thought he had enough political cushion and could follow the old Nehruvian principle that changes in Muslim personal law would be made only when the community demanded them. Irrespective of his motivations, it can hardly be contested that his decision in overturning the Shah Bano judgment was a pivotal moment in independent India’s history.Must Read | Yogendra Yadav writes: What will we sing of now, when we sing of patriotismThe political context is vastly different today. The Sangh Parivar is in the process of changing India’s public culture and, through the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has a decisive hold on its political life. This is notwithstanding that the BJP has only 240 seats in the Lok Sabha and was dependent on JD(U) and the TDP support to form the post 2024 Lok Sabha elections to form a government. The BJP’s recent electoral victory in West Bengal has only strengthened it politically. However, at this time of success, it has received severe jolts because of the Gen Z protests in Delhi and the embezzlement of funds at the Ram Temple.This gave important openings to the Congress, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi began to find a resonance among the youth on the issues he has been raising against the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. His rally in Prayagraj clearly showed this. Now, the CWC decision on ‘Vande Mataram’ is going to give a handle to the BJP to raise the old bogey of appeasement against the Congress. It may be correct on legal and historical grounds as the Congress is asserting, but politics is generally not so much about law and history as about perception and sentiment. How will the Congress counter the vast publicity that the Sangh has already begun to unleash?AdvertisementSince 2014, India has moved fundamentally away from four fundamental aspects of secularism, if not constitutionally then certainly politically. These were: Religious minorities could actively participate in the country’s political life and would have a voice in its decision making; their cultures could flourish; the public culture of India would not offend their core religious beliefs; and, all peoples vide Article 25 of the Constitution “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion”. This naturally includes the majority and minority communities.you may likeAlso Read | On Vande Mataram, Congress hasn’t learnt from its pastThe BJP has ensured that, particularly the Muslim minority, does not have a political voice in decision making — they do not have a single Muslim Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha member. Minorities perceive their culture as under threat, and the law relating to the full version of the ‘Vande Mataram ‘ as the national song may be perceived by them as going against their core beliefs. However, a very large majority of Hindus are proud of this decision. Minorities also feel that the guarantees in Article 25 are being eroded. A very large number of Hindus have approved these actions of the BJP.Hence, while the CWC decision would be welcomed by the minorities, it would alienate many in the majority community. The question is how it will play with Gen Z and those Hindu groups and communities who are still immune to the Sanskari propaganda. Certainly, the Congress has taken a risk when it had real openings at taking on the Sangh Parivar. Has it therefore committed a Shah Bano-like error?The writer is a former diplomat