New Delhi: The West Bengal government has made the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in all recognised madrasas across the state.
According to a directive issued by the Directorate of Madrasa, the national song must now be sung during morning assemblies before the beginning of classes in all recognised, aided and unaided madrasas functioning under the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department.
The decision comes a week after the state government introduced a similar rule for schools across West Bengal.
Government extends earlier school directive
Last week, the state government directed all schools under the School Education Department to make the singing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram mandatory during morning assemblies.
Students were instructed to sing the national song before the start of daily classes.
Announcing the earlier decision, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari wrote in a social media post, “Overriding the previous directive, the West Bengal government has made it mandatory with immediate effect for all schools under the Department of School Education to sing the Indian national song Vande Mataram during the school assembly or morning prayer before the commencement of classes.”
With the latest order, the same practice will now apply to madrasas across the state.
Why Vande Mataram remains politically significant
Vande Mataram has long remained an important symbol in India’s political and cultural discourse. The song played a major role during the freedom movement and became closely associated with nationalist campaigns against British rule.
The issue returned to the centre of political discussions ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections this year.
In February, the Centre granted Vande Mataram a status equal to the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. Following that decision, all six stanzas of the song became mandatory at government functions and school events along with the national anthem.
The move triggered political reactions in several states.
Political row in other states
In recent months, Vande Mataram became part of political controversies in Tamil Nadu and Kerala during official oath-taking ceremonies.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK criticised Chief Minister Joseph Vijay after the complete version of the song was played before the national anthem during an official programme in Chennai.
In Kerala, Left parties objected after the full rendition of Vande Mataram was played during an oath ceremony. The ruling alliance later said the sequence had been decided by Raj Bhavan.
The BJP accused Communist parties of opposing Indian cultural traditions.
With West Bengal now extending the Vande Mataram mandate to both schools and madrasas, the political debate around the national song is expected to continue.