The government on Tuesday ordered the Indian National Orchestra to perform the national anthem for the first time in 2019 after the singer’s family threatened to sue the government over the lyrics of the song.
The anthem, which was sung by the Indian army during the Indira Gandhi era, was performed in a ceremony at the Royal India War Memorial in the capital, New Delhi on Sunday night, the government said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the National Anthem Board (NAB) said the board was unaware of the threat and was investigating the matter.
“The board has instructed the national choir to perform a version of the national song at the 2019 induction ceremony of the Indian national orchestra,” NAB spokesperson Rajesh Sahu said.
He added that the board had also asked the National Song Contest Committee to conduct a separate investigation into the issue.
The decision comes just days after the song was pulled from the official repertoire of the country’s national anthem by the family of a woman who died while performing the song in her native village of Bhubaneswar in the northern state of Haryana.
The family, led by singer Pratibha Patil, has asked the NAB to pull the song from the national repertoire.