Darjeeling schools exempted from singing West Bengal State anthem in assemblies: Gorkhaland administration

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has issued a notification clarifying the West Bengal government’s decision to allow schools to sing the State anthem. ‘Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol’ Morning assembly will not be valid at schools in the area.

GTA is the regional autonomous body governing Darjeeling hills and adjoining districts and was established following a tripartite agreement between the Union government, West Bengal government and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in 2011.

In a letter addressed to the Regional Superintendent of Schools in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts on Friday, November 7, 2025, the GTA secretary stated that the “traditional anthems and morning prayers of schools in the GTA region are in Nepali language” and that “the tradition of regular morning assembly will be followed in schools, considering the different culture, tradition and language of communication of schools in the GTA region.”

The West Bengal government had issued a notification on November 4 that Rabindranath Tagore’s song would be played. ‘Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol’ The anthem, which has been granted state anthem status, will be sung in morning assemblies in schools across the state.

On December 30, 2023, the West Bengal government issued a notification declaring Poila Boisakh, the first day of the Bengali New Year, as Statehood Day and a song.Banglar Mati Banglar Jal’ It was written by Tagore as a State Song. The playing time of the communiqué stating that the State Song or State Anthem will be played at all government events will be one minute and 59 seconds.

While the state anthem has been played at all government events for almost two years now, the notification to make singing compulsory in schools comes at a time when West Bengal’s ruling party has alleged that the BJP is disrespecting Tagore.

However, both the West Bengal government and the party are cautious that it may not be prudent to impose the circular on the Darjeeling region of the state as people in the hills have always claimed to have a different culture. The 100-day violent agitation in the Darjeeling hills over the demand for separate state of Gorkhaland, which claimed the lives of more than a dozen people, was triggered by rumors that Bengali would be made compulsory in schools in Darjeeling.

GTA president and Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik leader Morcha Anit Thapa said it was decided that the state government would order the singing, respecting the diverse heritage and lost traditions of the hills. Banglar Mati, Banglar Jal It will not be implemented in GTA schools.

The Trinamool Congress held on Saturday (November 8) had once raised the issue of the BJP disrespecting Rabindranath Tagore. Chief Minister Sashi Panja and MLA Vivek Gupta, along with hundreds of party supporters, paid tribute to the national icon at Jorasanko Thakurbari, where the Nobel laureate’s ancestral home is located in Kolkata

In a statement, the party said, “For us, Tagore is not just a name. He is the soul, conscience, identity and eternal voice of Bengal. We will not remain silent while the BJP tries to distort and disrespect his legacy. The poet who gave India its National anthem does not need a certificate of nationalism from those who have never understood its meaning.”

On Friday, November 7, Dr. Panja, along with State Education Minister Bratya Basu, held a press conference, citing a statement by BJP MP Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, in which he allegedly said that the country’s national anthem, penned by Tagore, was written “to welcome the British official”.

At a time when the Trinamool Congress was accusing the BJP of insulting Tagore, the BJP leadership alleged that the West Bengal ruling party had not paid tribute to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: ‘Vande Mataram‘ . On Friday, the BJP leadership across the country, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paid tribute to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by celebrating the sesqui centenary celebration of the national song.Vande Mataram‘ .