HC: Vande Mataram must be sung by all

To instil "a sense of patriotism in each and every citizen" of Tamil Nadu, Madras High Court on Tuesday made singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in all educational institutions and offices in the state.

Justice MV Muralidharan said that while schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions must sing Vande Mataram at least once a week — either on Monday or Friday — the National Song should be sung in all work places at least once a month.

However, the judge made it clear that if any person or organisation has difficulty in singing or playing the National Song, he or she should not be compelled or forced to sing it, provided there are valid reasons for doing so. The song occurs in Bankimchandra Chatterjee's novel Anand Math published in 1882.

The Madras High Court order on singing Vande Mataram came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's order in December last year which makes it compulsory to play the National Anthem in all cinema halls in the country before screening of a movie. "The Directory of Public Information is directed to upload and circulate the translated version of Vande Mataram in Tamil and English thereby making it available on the government websites and also in social media," the order said.

Justice Muralidharan passed the order while hearing a petition filed by K Veeramani who approached the court to know whether Vande Mataram was written in Bengali or Sanskrit. Veeramani had lost an opportunity of being appointed as a government school teacher after missing the cut-off by one mark in the Teachers Recruitment Board Examination to a question — in which language was Vande Mataram written. The petitioner had answered that it was written in Bengali. However, the answer key said that it was written in Sanskrit. The court ordered that the mark be awarded to the petitioner after the government accepted that it was written in Bengali during the course of the proceedings.

Pointing out that several renowned leaders and authors have composed several songs, poems, verses and also enacted street plays to bring together the people for the sustained independence struggle, the judge said, "One such song that touched the hearts of thousands of people and acted as a unifier was the song Vande Mataram which meant 'I bow to thee, Mother'.

"It was first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. In 1950, subsequent to the Independence, it was adopted as the national song which even today touches our heart when we hear it," he added.

The song was originally penned down as "Bondey Matorom" by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in Bengali, the order said, adding that it was later translated to Sanskrit as Vande Mataram.

"Patriotism is an essential requirement for every citizen of this country. The fact that this country is our Motherland should always be remembered by every citizen of this country. People have sacrificed their lives and families to the independence struggle that prolonged for several decades. In these tough times, it was songs like our national song "Vande Mataram" which created a sense of belief and confidence in the people," the judge said. It would be desirable that the National Song 'Vande Mataram' is sung by citizens from different walks of life as frequently as possible in their educational institutions/offices/ workplace/stadiums," he added. He also said, "The youth of this country are the future of tomorrow and the court hopes and trusts that this order shall be taken in the right spirit and also implemented in letter and spirit by the citizenry of this great nation."

...& ANALYSIS

• The Madras High Court order comes eight months after the Supreme Court ordered playing of the National Anthem in all cinema halls of the country before screening of a film.
   
• Like the SC bench, which had referred to constitutional patriotism & nationalism while passing its order, the HC judge cited patriotism as the reason for singing the National Song.