Mamata Banerjee Wants A State Anthem For West Bengal; Here's What We Know So Far

West Bengal is set to have its own state anthem in the near future. During an all-party meeting that was convened to discuss the state foundation day, the topic of a state anthem was also brought up.

During the meeting, which was attended by politicians, scholars, ministers, MLAs, educationists, citizens and bureaucrats, two potential songs were proposed.

The final decision on whether the state anthem will be "Banglar Maati Banglar Jol" or "Dhono Dhanno Pushpey Bhora" will be made after further discussions in the state assembly.

Dhono Dhanno Pushpey Bhora is a patriotic song composed by Dwijendralal Ray, a multifaceted artist known for his Hindu mythological and nationalist historical plays. His songs referred to as Dwijendrageeti, are a testament to his talent as a poet, playwright, and musician.

Banglar Mati Banglar Jol is a patriotic song penned by Rabindranath Tagore, the renowned composer of India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. This powerful composition was created in 1905 to express support for the "Bangabhanga Rodh Movement" in Bengal.

In addition to his musical contributions, Tagore initiated the "Raksha Bandhan Utsav" on 16 October 1905. This event aimed to bring together Hindu and Muslim Bengalis who were protesting against the partition of Bengal that occurred in the same year.

During an all-party meeting, the majority of participants expressed their opposition to the union government's decision to designate 20 June as the statehood day or state foundation day.

They strongly believed that this move, made without consulting the state government on such a culturally sensitive matter, was unacceptable. They vowed to vehemently oppose it, even resorting to protests if necessary.

This year, Governor Dr C V Ananda Bose celebrated the day despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's strong opposition.

According to a letter from Banerjee to Governor Bose, she stated that the state was not founded on any particular day, especially not on 20 June.

She further emphasised that the pain and trauma of partition were so significant that the people of the state have never commemorated any day as Foundation Day since India's Independence.

While the CPI(M) and Congress chose to skip the all-party meeting for political reasons, the West Bengal BJP supported the Union government's decision to observe 20 June as statehood day.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Sukanta Majumdar, the West Bengal BJP President and MP, expressed his disappointment with the lack of openness in discussing statehood day. As a result, the BJP has decided to boycott the meeting and will not be attending.

Majumdar said "West Bengal is the homeland of Bengali Hindus which was formed on 20th of June, 1947."