A welcome and overdue course correction by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in restoring the full six-stanza rendition of Vande Mataram to its rightful place at official ceremonies.
For decades, political compromise diluted what was meant to be a civilisational invocation of the motherland. A nation that reclaimed its sovereignty in 1947 need not continue to inherit the anxieties of that era. Cultural confidence cannot be permanently hostage to historical concessions.
Mandating the complete version at constitutional occasions - from the unfurling of the Tricolour to the arrival of the President and Governors - reinforces that national identity is not negotiable. It is lived, sung, and honoured in full.
A confident republic does not trim its heritage to fit the sensitivities of the past. It stands by it unapologetically.