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Nabanna brings back 'Bangali', removes 'Bangla' in state anthem
The Statesman
|February 19, 2025
The state secretariat Nabanna on Tuesday brought back 'Bangali' by removing 'Bangla' in the state anthem Banglar Mati Banglar Jol by Rabindranath Tagore, bringing to an end to the controversy since 2023 when the Mamata Banerjee government passed a Bill in the state Legislative Assembly making the poem a state song.
With a surprising proposal of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, her government had made a change in the original song's lyrics of Tagore about one-and-a-half years ago. The usage of 'Bangali (Bengali)' in the song was replaced with 'Bangla (Bengal)', triggering controversy across the state.
Tagore had penned Banglar Mati Banglar Jol protesting the colonial bifurcation of Bengal in 1905.
Today, the state chief secretary, Manoj Pant has issued an order mentioning the paragraph of the Tagore song that will be recited as the state anthem.
This story is from the February 19, 2025 edition of The Statesman.
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