The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body formed to run administrative affairs in Darjeeling Hills has exempted schools from singing “Banglar Mati Banglar Jol”— West Bengal’s official state anthem—citing respect for the Hills’ linguistic and cultural diversity.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) had on November 6 made the Tagore-penned song mandatory in all state-run and state-aided schools alongside the national anthem.
But the GTA, which enjoys autonomous administrative powers in the Hills, has decided to preserve its existing morning assembly traditions that include Nepali-language prayers and anthems.
In a notice to the district inspector of schools on November 7, GTA Secretary P.D. Pradhan wrote that institutions under its jurisdiction would continue following their “regular tradition of morning assembly,” mindful of “different cultures, traditions, and languages of communication” in the Hills.
A WBBSE official confirmed that the GTA’s decision had been communicated to the state board and that schools in the region would not be bound by the new directive.
The move comes amid a growing debate over the uniform enforcement of the anthem across diverse regions of Bengal. BJP MLA from Darjeeling, Neeraj Tamang Zimba, has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, calling the board’s circular “a serious constitutional, cultural, and administrative concern.”
“Our Constitution celebrates unity through diversity, not uniformity through diktat,” Zimba said, adding that “no student or institution should be compelled to adopt a practice that conflicts with their conscience, language, or cultural identity.”
Tagore’s “Banglar Mati Banglar Jol”—written in 1905 as a protest against the partition of Bengal—was declared the state anthem in 2023.
While its inclusion was meant to foster regional pride, the Darjeeling exemption underscores Bengal’s complex mosaic of identities, where cultural assertion often meets political sensitivity.