Bengal govt makes it mandatory to sing ‘Banglar Mati Banglar Jal’ in government schools Assembly
Kolkata: The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), on Thursday, issued a notification making it mandatory for state sponsored/aided schools across the state to include the state song ‘Banglar Mati, Banglar Jal’ in the morning Assembly.
This song, written by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, has been designated as the state anthem in 2023.
A resolution in this regard was passed in the state Assembly in 2023.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu also announced the state government’s decision regarding the state song.
In an X post, Basu said, “With the permission of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, from now on, every government and government-run school in West Bengal has been asked to sing the famous song “Banglar Mati Banglar Jal” written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 as the prayer song in morning Assembly. Along with the regular singing of the national anthem of India “Jana Gana Mana Adhinayak Jai Hai” written by the poet. We firmly believe that if this state anthem is sung, it will always act as a special catalyst for social and communal unity of the entire state.”
Following the development, many believe that the decision to sing the state song has been taken to awaken Bengali sentiments ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections.
Many states in India have state anthems.
West Bengal did not have such a song for a long time.
The first ‘Vande Utkal Janani’ was adopted as the state anthem in Odisha in 1936.
‘Maa Telugu Thaliki’ was adopted as the state anthem in Andhra Pradesh in 1956.
States such as Assam, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Telangana also have state anthems.