Calcutta court questions challenge to madrasa song order

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai

The Calcutta High Court has questioned whether a legal challenge to the compulsory singing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram in madrasas can proceed before any punitive action is taken against students or institutions.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen made the observation on Tuesday while hearing a public interest litigation challenging a government directive requiring the complete national song to be rendered in madrasas.

“The heavens will not fall,” the bench orally remarked while responding to arguments that passages in the full composition conflicted with the religious beliefs of some students. The judges said reciting words associated with another faith would not, by itself, alter a person’s religious identity.

The court referred to prayers conducted in Christian educational institutions, where students from different communities may participate in assemblies containing Christian expressions. It asked whether such participation necessarily meant that children belonging to other faiths had abandoned their own religious beliefs.

Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing for the petitioner, argued that Vande Mataram had been recognised as the national song but could not be imposed on children studying in madrasas. He submitted that the national anthem occupied a different and higher legal position.

The bench focused on whether the directive had caused an identifiable injury. It asked whether any student, teacher or institution had faced disciplinary or punitive action for failing to follow the instruction. Counsel replied that the authorities had not attempted strict enforcement.

The judges observed that the mandatory character of the directive could be tested more directly if coercive action were taken. They questioned whether the court should intervene solely on the basis of apprehended consequences when nobody had yet suffered a penalty.

Additional Solicitor General Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi sought time to obtain instructions and place the authorities’ position before the court through a report. He argued that an injunction could not be granted merely because the petitioners feared possible enforcement.

Senior advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay referred to the political and parliamentary debate surrounding the complete version of Vande Mataram. He argued that the issue had remained contentious and that no parliamentary resolution supporting compulsory rendition of the six stanzas had emerged from the debate.

The court adjourned the case until the report is filed. The petition, titled Sourav Dutta versus Union of India and another, has been registered as WPA 86 of 2026.

The dispute follows a January 28 Home Ministry directive defining the official version of Vande Mataram as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s complete six-stanza composition. The prescribed rendition lasts three minutes and 10 seconds and is intended for specified government functions, public ceremonies and educational settings.

The guidelines state that Vande Mataram should precede Jana Gana Mana when the national song and national anthem are performed together. They also require the audience to stand in attention during its rendition and set out occasions on which the official version may be played or sung.

A separate challenge to the Home Ministry advisory reached the Supreme Court in March. The court declined to intervene, describing the petition as premature because the circular did not prescribe penalties for refusing to sing. The petitioner was permitted to approach the judiciary again if discrimination or coercive action occurred.

The West Bengal government subsequently directed state-run schools and government, aided and recognised madrasas to sing Vande Mataram during morning assemblies before classes. The instruction extended to government model madrasas, government-aided institutions and recognised unaided madrasas.

About 4.8 lakh students enrolled in 614 recognised madrasas were covered by the directive. Several institutions indicated that they would comply after reopening following the summer break, while education groups and community representatives questioned the need to make participation compulsory.

The controversy centres partly on the distinction between the first two stanzas, which have traditionally been used at official events, and the later verses containing imagery associated with Hindu goddesses. Opponents argue that requiring children to sing all six stanzas could conflict with freedom of conscience and the secular character of publicly supported education.