Allahabad HC Dismisses Plea Against Yogi Govt.’s Circular Making Mandatory Singing Of National Anthem In UP Madrasas [Read Order]

The message and ethos of our National Anthem and Flag therefore needs to be spread and inculcated in all educational institutions irrespective of their affiliation or denomination, the Bench said.

Dismissing a plea challenging Uttar Pradesh Government’s ‘forcing’ students of Madarsas to sing the National Anthem, the Allahabad High Court has observed that the singing of the national Anthem is not just a constitutional duty but also fosters the spread of the spirit of democracy, secularism and the integrity of the nation.

‘The message and ethos of our National Anthem and Flag therefore needs to be spread and inculcated in all educational institutions irrespective of their affiliation or denomination’ the Bench headed by the Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale observed.

In a circular issued on the Independence day, the Uttar Pradesh Government, had required s all madrasas in the state to record video of events organized on the occasion of Independence Day. It had also Yogi passed an order demanding a mandatory national anthem and flag hoisting in madrasas.

According to Alaul Mustafa, the petitioner in this case, who is a Secretary of an institution which runs a Madarsa, singing of the National Anthem is “forced patriotism” and cannot be enforced upon persons who do not want to sing or recite the National Anthem in light of their “belief and custom”.

Observing that the petitioner is ignorant of the duty of every to respect the National Anthem irrespective of his or her religious or political beliefs, the Court said: “The petitioner would have been well advised to educate himself with regard to the duties placed by the Constitution which we as a people have adopted and borne in mind that attempts like the ones embodied by the present writ petition far from preserving and protecting the interests of citizens clearly result in spreading disharmony and discord. Attempts such as the present cannot but be deprecated.”

The Court, referring to Article 51A of Constitution, also observed: “The recitation of the National Anthem is in essence the act of every citizen honouring the history and tradition of this great nation and ultimately subserves the promotion of a spirit of brotherhood amongst all without exception to the religious, lingual or regional affiliation of a particular individual.”

The Supreme Court, in November, last year, had made it mandatory for all cinema theatres to play the national anthem before a movie begins during which the national flag is to be shown on the screen.