Finally, what the minority religious communities in general and the Muslim community in particular feared is exactly happening in the country. The laws passed in Parliament and the interventions of the courts based on them amount to implementing bulldozer raj on their freedom of faith and cultural heritage. Doesn't Article 25 of the Constitution, which grants individuals the fundamental right to believe, propagate and practise the religion of their choice, apply to monotheists, including Muslims? Will madrassas and minority institutions get the protection under Article 28 of the Constitution, which states that no person attending any educational institution funded or recognized by the state shall be required take part in any religious instruction or to attend any religious worship ceremonies held in that institution without the consent of such person or, in the case of minors, of their guardian?
While considering the petition filed by minority groups against the order issued by the West Bengal government led by Suvendu Adhikari to make the national anthem Vande Mataram mandatory in madrasas, the observations made by the division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, raise concerns about whether even the higher courts are violating constitutional rights. The chief judge's words "Merely reciting the ideas or verses of another religion does not violate a person's religious faith. Heavens will not fall...today if I am asked to utter a quote that is not in my religion...what will happen? I will become a person not belonging to that religion?" reflected the court's approach, which refused to stay the order of the West Bengal government, constituting an onslaught on the freedom of faith of non-Hindu religious believers. Such observations are likely to deepen the roots of the anti-Muslim politics that the powers at the Centre and West Bengal are trying to implement, completely trivializing the fundamental rights principles enshrined in the country's Constitution.
The case also has the background of the passage of the ‘Prevention of Insults to National Honours (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ by both houses of Parliament last week, which gives the national song Vande Mataram the same status as the national anthem. The Calcutta High Court’s observation and the Sangh Parivar’s political moves in Bengal are not isolated incidents; rather, they are the continuation of a systematic alienation of and hatred towards Muslims that is taking place in Parliament, on the streets and in official institutions alike. The amendment, which provides for imprisonment of up to three years and a fine for disrespecting Vande Mataram, was passed in Parliament in a dramatic 10-minute coup, with most of the MPs from the INDIA Alliance protesting on the floor. The regime is nullifying India’s secular character by creating a horrific situation where Brahminical and Sanatan rituals and concepts are legally imposed on minorities in the name of nationalism. The new legislation is turning monotheistic minorities into anti-nationals and traitors if they exercise their constitutional right to reject the lines that salute the Motherland as 'Durga' and the eternal deities. Just as making the Prohibition of Conversion Bill makes a tool to torture and imprison Christians in north India, the orders and statements of Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari prove that this law will make it a tool to behead minority believers and institutions, including Muslims.
The letter written by Rabindranath Tagore to Subhash Chandra Bose in 1937 when vande mataram had ignited major political and communal conflicts at the national level and in Bengal, is still relevant. "The core of Bande Mataram is a hymn to goddess Durga: this is so plain that there can be no debate about it… no Mussulman can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as ‘Swadesh’….The novel Anandamath is a work of literature, and so the song is appropriate in it. But, Parliament is a place of union for all religious groups, and there the song cannot be appropriate...” In a post script, he added: “…[S]ince there are strong feelings on both sides, a balanced judgment is essential. In pursuit of our political aims we want peace, unity and good will — we do not want the endless tug of war that comes from supporting the demands of one faction over the other." The biggest challenge facing the Constitution and democracy is that Tagore's approach to preserving the integrity and coexistence of the country is unacceptable to our authorities - and now to courts.