Overview
- The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education directed all government and government-aided upper primary and secondary schools to sing “Banglar Mati, Banglar Jal” during morning assembly starting November 6.
- Education minister Bratya Basu announced the move on X, calling it a daily prayer-song approved by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
- The order pairs the state song with the regular rendering of the national anthem, which Basu said would foster social and communal unity.
- Officials previously specified that only the opening lines beginning “Banglar Mati, Banglar Jal, Banglar Bayu, Banglar Phal…” constitute the anthem for official use.
- Media coverage situates the directive within identity politics before elections and contrasts it with a recent Assam backlash over singing Tagore’s “Amar Sonar Bangla.”