Rowing across Vande Mataram is compulsory in Madrasas of West Bengal

The Directorate of Madrasa Education in West Bengal also issued an official order making the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ compulsory in all state-aided madrasas. File photo for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: The Hindu

A row has erupted over the compulsory singing of Vande Mataram in West Bengal madrasas. A West Bengal government order mandated the singing of the national song in all educational institutions of the state.

“Vande Mataram and madrasas have no connection. This divisive politics was what divided this nation in 1947. There is nothing to do with Hindu Muslims. Congress has been using Vande Mataram slogan since forever, so what is the problem now?” Bharatiya Janta Party West Bengal President Samik Bhattacharya said on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

A letter signed on May 19 by the head of madrasa education stated that Vande Mataram must be sung before classes begin. “…is hereby made compulsory in all Madrasas (Government Model Madrasas (English Medium)/Recognized Government Aided Madrasas/Approved by MSKS/Approved by SSK/Recognized Unaided Madrasas) under the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education throughout the State of West Bengal with immediate effect,” the official notification said.

This comes days after the same regulation was made mandatory in all schools across the state where students were asked to sing the national song Vande Mataram along with the national anthem Jana Gana Mana during morning prayers.

Meanwhile, opposition parties criticized the move to make Vande Mataram compulsory in madrasas.

The Aam Janta Unnayan Party, which was formed just before the West Bengal Assembly elections, also opposed making Vande Mataram compulsory in madrasas.

Also read: The proposed Vande Mataram Protocol is a punishing departure from history

Party chief Humayun Kabir, who won the assembly elections from two seats, said the new chief minister Suvendu Adhikari must remember that he was the chief minister of all 11 million people of Bengal. “Vande Mataram will not be sung in madrasas. The government has no authority to dictate such matters in madrasas,” Kabir said on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

Senior Liberation Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) leader Kartik Pal said that ever since the BJP government came to power, it has been trying to create a Hindu rashtra. “They (BJP-RSS) have no history of participating in any Indian independence movement. But they are trying to attack Muslims even though this community participated in the freedom struggle. We are against this forceful imposition of Vande Mataram as it is an autocratic order,” Pal told The Hindu.

West Bengal Congress president Suman Roy Chaudhuri said they warned the country of the danger of the BJP coming to power.

“We have been warning about this danger all along. People didn’t understand earlier, so let them understand slowly now. This Vande Mataram issue is not the main event, it is just the beginning. BJP is effectively putting duct tape over people’s mouths,” added Mr. Roy Chaudhuri.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, West Bengal officials, declined to comment on the matter on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

“Wherever the BJP is in power, it wants to spread hatred in the society and create divisions among people. That’s why they use national symbols like the national song to showcase their trivial thinking… BJP will do anything to stay in power,” Samajwadi Party spokesperson Udaiveer Singh said in Lucknow on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

However, the primary opposition in Bengal, the Trinamool Congress leadership, has remained mostly silent on the issue and has not yet issued any statement.

Published – 21 May 2026 12:41 IST