Shillong, Mar 20: Insisting that the national song Vande Mataram be sung before government programmes is a way to impose the Hindi language and the Hindu religion on those who speak or follow neither, the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) general secretary said today.
During the celebration of the KSU’s 48th foundation anniversary, Donald V Thabah criticised the order of the central government to sing all the verses of the song at all government programmes.
Speaking on the subject, Thabah said that only the first two out of the seven verses are about India while the other verses are about Hinduism and the goddess Durga.
The KSU general secretary said that this is an attempt to impose Hindi and a devious attempt to convert everyone to Hinduism.
There is a history of minorities in India (mainly Muslim) declining to sing Vande Mataram as it is seen as conflicting with their faith. This is then used by right-wing Hindutva groups, such as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to paint such people as anti-national.
In January the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued a directive for the song to be sung more widely during government events. This has already caused disquiet in Christian-majority parts of the North East, such as Nagaland and Mizoram.
