Few ideas carry as much emotional resonance in India as national symbols. They evoke sacrifice, unity and the memory of a freedom struggle that transcended region, language and caste. But the strength of those symbols has never rested on the fear of punishment. It has rested on the voluntary respect they command.

That distinction is now at the heart of Parliament’s attempt to extend criminal-law protection to Vande Mataram. The proposal reflects an understandable desire to recognise the song’s extraordinary place in the national movement. There is little dispute that Vande Mataram inspired generations of freedom fighters and occupies a unique place in the country’s political and cultural history. The Constituent Assembly itself acknowledged its special status, even while choosing Jana Gana Mana as the Anthem of the Republic. The distinction between symbolic recognition and legal coercion is therefore crucial, because constitutional democracies ultimately depend more on consent than compulsion. The question, however, is not whether Vande Mataram deserves honour.

It unquestionably does. The real question is whether honour can or should be enforced through criminal sanctions. India’s........

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