– Mita Mukherjee

The West Bengal government has made singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in in all government-aided and recognised madrasas under the state minority affairs and madrasa education department, according to an order issued on Wednesday.

The madrasas have been directed to implement the order with immediate effect.

“In suppression of all previous orders and practices, singing of Vande Mataram, during morning assembly prayers, prior to the commencement of classes, is hereby made mandatory in all Madrasahs ……..under the Minority Affairs and the Madrasah Education Board across the state of West Bengal with immediate effect”, said the order signed by the Director of Madrasah Education on May 19.

Schools will have to submit compliance reports after implementing the order, an official said.

Singing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay had been made compulsory in all state-aided schools a week ago by the Suvendu Adhikari government in one of its first decisions.

“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,” Adhikari had said in a post.

Under the previous system students at madrasas sang the national anthem Jana Gana Mana by Rabindranath Tagore.

There are over 600 government-aided and over 220 government recognised madrasas across Bengal, an official said.

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