The national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" was sung by 509,261 people in Gujarat.
Half a million Indians have set a new world record by performing a mass rendition of the national anthem, as patriotic sentiment rises. "Jana Gana Mana" was sung by 509,261 people in Gujarat at the opening of a Hindu temple, said the Guinness World Records.
"The event attracted close to 1 million people according to the auditors, but only the above number could be accommodated in the record attempt area," the world record-keeper said on its website.
The feat was accomplished in late January but only validated recently by Guinness World Records.
This smashes the previous record of roughly 254,500 set in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka in 2014.
"We feel very proud to have achieved this record, which is nearly double that of the previous record," Paresh Gajera, chairman of the organising committee overseeing the event in Gujarat, told AFP.
The patriotic effort comes amid a fiery debate over exploitation of the anthem, and concerns about overt displays of nationalism under the current governing administration.
The Supreme Court ruled, on November 30 ruled that cinemas must play the national anthem before screening movies and audiences should stand for it, drawing some angry accusations of an assault on civil liberties.
Citizens "are duty-bound to show respect to the national anthem which is the symbol of the constitutional patriotism," the top court had said in the order.
Since the Supreme Court order was passed, there have incidents of cinema-goers being assaulted for refusing to stand, in states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, while others were arrested for failing to obey the ruling.
The Centre called the court's order a "new beginning" and added that the anthem should also be mandatory in schools "if we want to inculcate respect for the anthem among children".
(With Inputs from AFP)