BJP tells its state govts: ensure they all sing Vande Mataram

Making most of the Congress flip-flop on the Vande Mataram issue, the BJP today stirred the political cauldron by directing its state units and governments to make the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in all educational institutions, including madarsas

Making most of the Congress flip-flop on the Vande Mataram issue, the BJP today stirred the political cauldron by directing its state units and governments to make the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in all educational institutions, including madarsas, on September 7 to mark 100 years of the national song. Muslim organisations are protesting the move, saying 8220;the song cannot be a yardstick for patriotism8230; it is against our religion to pray and bow before anyone or anybody except the Almighty8221;.

In New Delhi, BJP president Rajnath Singh slammed the UPA government8217;s 8220;appeasement policy8221; and said party units across the country had been told to sing Vande Mataram on September 7. Even the BJP national executive, meeting in Dehradun that day, would do the same.

In Jaipur, Rajasthan Principal Secretary, Education, C K Mathew confirmed to The Indian Express that a copy of the notice would be sent to all educational institutions by Tuesday, irrespective of religious background. 8220;A madarsa is an educational institute and there is no need for it to be mentioned separately. The notice will be cleared by Education Minister Ghanshyam Tiwari and issued immediately,8217;8217; he said.

Tiwari said that the notice was likely to be issued this evening. 8220;I am yet to see it but it will be issued almost immediately. It has been drafted according to the Centre8217;s directive and the contents hardly need to be looked into,8217;8217; he said.

The notice emphasises that on completion of 100 years of the acceptance of the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the national song, its recitation has been mandatory for all educational institutions in the state. Students of all institutions will have to recite the national song on September 7 at 11 am.

Mathew said that the Rajasthan government was only implementing a Central directive. 8220;We have received a letter from the Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh asking us to ensure this8230; we are only acting on advice,8217;8217; he said.

But Muslim organisations in Rajasthan are protesting, even contemplating moving the courts. Mohammad Salim Engineer, state president of Jamaat Islami Hind, said: 8220;Singing of this song cannot be a yardstick for patriotism. It is absolutely unfair on part of BJP leaders to say that voting rights of those who refuse to sing Vande Mataram should be snatched away.8217;8217;

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Jiyawar-ul-Rehman, who heads Jamia Hidayat, the largest madarsa in Jaipur, said: 8220;It is against our religion to pray and bow before anyone or anybody except the Almighty. We believe that there is only one God, so there is no question of singing a song where the motherland is given the status of God.8217;8217;

Jamia Hidayat houses more than 550 students and the authorities claim that they will not think twice about violating the order. While Jaipur has some 300 small and large madarsas and schools run by Muslim organisations, the state has more than 6,000 such institutions.

While Chhattisgarh has also waved Arjun Singh8217;s letter to make singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in all educational institutions, madarsas included, Madhya Pradesh, one of the first states to issue the circular through its general administration department, hasn8217;t made it compulsory.

Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary GAD Khushiram said the circular had been issued to all educational institutions, including madarsas. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Panchayat and Public Relations Minister Narendra Singh Tomar have avoided making any direct comment, saying 8220;we want maximum and enthusiastic participation on September 7.8217;8217; But the party organisation wants the singing made compulsory.

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A little known United Muslim Front has asked Muslim students to boycott schools on September 7 but Jamiat-e-Ulema, which represents a large section of Muslims, has not issued any such statement. It said Muslims had always been singing the national anthem and if the government wanted another song to be sung, it could replace Vande Mataram with Saare Jahan Se Achha.

In Gujarat, the state government has not yet issued any circular making the song compulsory but the state BJP is pressing for it. State BJP spokesperson Purshottam Rupala said all BJP district presidents would ensure that students in all educational institutions, including madarsas, recite the national song on September 7. 8220;In madarsas where we know the authorities, we will request them to follow. We will not force anyone. It is upto them. If they are patriotic, they will follow,8221; Rupala said.

Running for cover after its flip-flop, the Congress today maintained that the UPA government had done nothing to alter the status on Vande Mataram. Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: 8220;What is relevant is that Vande Mataram is the country8217;s national song and remains so. The BJP is trying to gain cheap political mileage by trying to communalise the issue. They must recall that even Atal Behari Vajpayee had said he was against making its singing compulsory.8221;

With ENS reports