West Bengal has made it mandatory for all schools run and aided by the State government to sing the State song, Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol, during their morning assembly - a move that has elicited mixed reactions within the teaching community.
“…Take necessary action for regularly singing the State Song Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol in the Morning Assembly mandatorily,” the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education said in a notification issued on Thursday evening.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu also issued a statement on social media, saying that as per the directive of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, government and government-aided schools would sing Rabindranath Tagore’s 1905 composition - translated as The Soil of Bengal, The Water of Bengal - as the prayer song every morning.
“We firmly believe that, when sung along with the national anthem Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya Hey, the State Song will serve as a special catalyst for social and communal unity in the State,” Mr. Basu said.
As a result, on Friday morning, schools in the State began their day with three renditions: Vande Mataram (on the occasion of its 150th anniversary on November 7), Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol, and the national anthem.
