Education Minister of Madhya Pradesh Vijay Shah has directed all private schools in Satna to have students answer their roll call with “Jai Hind” instead of “yes, sir/ma’am” from October 1, ANI reported.
Shah told the news agency that the order was “just a suggestion” for now. “We hope they will adhere to it since it relates to patriotism,” the minister said.
If the experiment is successful, he will seek Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s permission to have the “Jai Hind” roll call rule implemented in the whole of Madhya Pradesh.
Shah’s initiative comes amid much debate on forced patriotism.
On August 10, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had passed a notice to make singing Vande Matram compulsory in all schools it runs. The Shiv Sena had also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to enact a law to make singing Vande Mataram mandatory.
On July 25, the Madras High Court had ruled that Vande Mataram must be played in all schools, colleges and universities in Tamil Nadu at least once a week, preferably on Mondays or Fridays.
In November 2016, the Supreme Court had ruled that all cinema halls across the country must start playing the national anthem before each movie screening. The bench had also ordered that this be accompanied by the national flag on the screen, and that the public should stand for the anthem.
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