Bengal makes state song a must at school morning assemblies
Times of India | 7 November 2025
Kolkata: The state on Thursday made it mandatory for state schools to sing the state song, ‘Banglar Mati, Banglar Jal', at morning assemblies.
A notification, issued by the state secondary education board to school heads of all upper primary and secondary schools, asked them to "take necessary action for regularly singing the state song at the morning assembly mandatorily".
"The famous song written by
in 1905 is now to be sung as a prayer song (prarthana sangeet) at the beginning of each day in every government and government-aided school in Bengal," state education minister Bratya Basu posted on X on Thursday evening. The "regular singing of the National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana), also written by the poet", along with the state song, would be "a catalyst for social and communal unity", Basu added.
‘Banglar Mati', Tagore's ode to Bengal, was composed in 1905 in support of the movement against the British colonial ruler's 1905 decision to partition Bengal.
CM Mamata Banerjee organised a citizens' convention in Sept 2023 to choose an appropriate number to be Bengal's "state song". That convention — comprising representatives from political parties, religious leaders and prominent citizens — overwhelmingly favoured ‘Banglar Mati'.
An assembly session the same year adopted a resolution, making it the state song. The state then issued an order making it mandatory at all state functions along with the National Anthem.
Thursday's state order comes in the backdrop of the political war between the Trinamool and the BJP over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the voters' list in Bengal. Trinamool seniors have also slammed the recent arrest of an Assam Congress leader for singing another Tagore song, ‘Amar Sonar Bangla' (which also happens to be Bangladesh's anthem).
School heads reacted in different voices to Thursday's directive. Jodhpur Park Boys' School headmaster Amit Sen Majumdar stressed that his school was already singing the state song (along with the National Anthem) daily from January this year. "We introduced the state song at our morning assembly before the notice was issued. It is a matter of pride that the state administration has issued an order that we have already implemented," he added.
Hindu School headmaster Subhrajit Dutta said his school would implement the state order as soon as regular classes started after the ongoing Madhyamik test exams.
Some teachers, however, questioned the logic of singing two songs every morning. A city school headmaster also wondered whether all students would be able to remember the lyrics of the state song.