The new Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in West Bengal has officially mandated the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ in state-run schools. The notification, issued by the state School Education Department, requires the National Song to be sung during school assembly prayers before classes begin.
West Bengal’s major political parties, including both ruling and opposition parties, have welcomed this decision. While the BJP believes that singing ‘Vande Mataram’ will foster national pride among students, the opposition has expressed concerns about not compromising the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, penned by Rabindranath Tagore.
The Trinamool Congress, the principal opposition party in the state, has no objections to ‘Vande Mataram’ being sung in schools, emphasizing the importance of maintaining secularism, brotherhood, and amity. Similarly, the West Bengal unit of Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have also weighed in on the issue.
