West Bengal Chief Minister announced that the national song Vande Mataram will be sung in all state schools starting Monday. An official notification will be issued from Nabanna. The development coincides with other announcements, including the nomination of Rathindranath Bose as Assembly Speaker and plans to personally interact with top Higher Secondary scorers.
West Bengal’s Education Department has ordered that ‘Vande Mataram’ be sung compulsorily in morning assemblies across all schools, effective immediately. The directive requires the song to be performed after the National Anthem, and it replaces the earlier practice of singing Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Banglar Mati Banglar Jol.’ The move marks a sharp change in how schools open their day.
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The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to bring Vande Mataram under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, placing it on par with Jana Gana Mana. An amendment bill will be introduced in Parliament, and disrupting the rendition could become a punishable offence. Penalties could include imprisonment of up to three years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “Vande Mataram” should guide Bengal’s reconstruction and development in the 21st century, calling it central to India’s freedom struggle. In Barrackpore, he vowed that under a BJP government no citizen would face discrimination by caste or community, promised strict action against illegal infiltrators, and reaffirmed citizenship benefits for people from the Matua community.
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