File photo of women participating in a procession on the occassion of 'Poila Baisakh', first day of Bengali New Year, in Kolkata.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Kolkata: The West Bengal government has declared 'Poila Boisakh', the first day of the Bengali New Year, as the State Day and 'Banglar Mati Banglar Jal' written by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as the State Song, an official notification said.
The State Day will be called 'Bangla Divas', the order, issued by outgoing chief secretary HK Dwivedi on Saturday, said.
It also made the playing of the State Song 'compulsory' at the commencement of all official functions in West Bengal.
"After careful consideration, it is hereby declared that the 'Poila Boisakh' (1st day of the month of Boisakh of Bengali calendar year) will be observed as State Day and it will be named 'Bangla Divas'," it said.
"The song composed by Rabindranath Tagore, 'Banglar Mati Banglar Jal', will be the State Song. The approximate playing time of the State Song is 1 minute and 59 seconds," the notification stated.
As per the order, all should stand in attention position when the State Song is played and mass singing of it should be encouraged.
'The State Day shall be celebrated by all the people of West Bengal with respect and dignity every year. The State Song shall compulsorily be played with due respect in all state government functions at the start of the function and the National Anthem shall be played compulsorily at the conclusion of it,' the notification said.
In September, the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution declaring the first day of the Bengali calendar, 'Poila Baisakh', as statehood day and Rabindranath Tagore's song 'Banglar Mati Banglar Jal' as the state anthem.
'All dignitaries shall stand in attention when the State Song and National Anthem are played and mass singing of the State Song should be encouraged,' the order added.
The necessity for the declaration of State Day and State Song for West Bengal has been felt for a long time, taking into consideration its rich glory, culture and heritage, the order added.