New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has demanded the withdrawal of a West Bengal government order that makes the recitation of all stanzas of Vande Mataram compulsory during morning assemblies in government schools and government recognised madrasas.
Describing the move as a breach of fundamental rights, the Board said the notification should be revoked immediately or, at minimum, that Muslim students be exempted.
The decision runs counter to the spirit of the Constitution and undermines India’s secular and democratic traditions, AIMPLB spokesperson S.Q.R. Ilyas said in a statement. He argued that compelling any student to recite a text or song that conflicts with their religious beliefs is a clear violation of constitutional rights, citing Articles 19, 25 and 28(3).
Ilyas referred to the Supreme Court’s judgment in Bijoe Emmanuel v State of Kerala, which held that no citizen can be forced to take part in a national or religious ceremony in breach of sincerely held religious or conscientious beliefs.
He added that certain stanzas of Vande Mataram are regarded by many Muslims as incompatible with the Islamic doctrine of monotheism (Tawhid), and that forcing recitation infringes on religious identity and constitutional freedoms.
A secular state must not impose the religious or cultural practices of one community on another, Ilyas said, noting that since Independence the central government has not made the song’s recitation compulsory in educational institutions, treating it instead as a matter of individual conscience.
He pointed to Article 28(3), which bars compulsory participation in religious instruction or worship in state maintained or state aided institutions without free consent.
The AIMPLB urged Muslim students, parents and teachers in West Bengal to be aware of their legal rights and to seek appropriate remedies if subjected to coercion to recite Vande Mataram, invoking the Constitution and the Bijoe Emmanuel ruling.
(Inputs from IANS)