Darjeeling schools under Gorkhaland administration exempted from West Bengal state anthem

After protests, Darjeeling schools have been exempted from singing the Bengali state anthem during the morning assemblies as mandated by the West Bengal government. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) notified that the new order on 'Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol' will not apply to institutions in the region under the administration.

GTA informed that schools in the region will continue to follow their traditional anthems and prayers in view of the diverse culture, tradition, and language of students studying in these schools.

“This is to inform you that the schools in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration region have their traditional anthems and morning prayers in Nepali language. I have been, therefore, directed to apprise you that the regular tradition of morning assembly will be followed in the schools keeping in mind the different culture, tradition, and language of communication in the schools within Gorkhaland Territorial Administration region,” said the GTA secretary in a mail to schools.

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Mamata Banerjee government recently announced that all state-run and state-aided schools will now sing Rabindranath Tagore’s song in their assemblies. The prayer will be sung along the national anthem. Earlier, there was no rule on following any specific prayer or a state anthem in the West Bengal schools.