PATNA, April 28 -- The state government has mandated singing the national song and national anthem at the beginning of all official programmes and at schools before regular academic activities. The protocol involves commencing government events with "Vande Mataram", composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, followed by "Jana Gana Mana" by Rabindranath Tagore. The state events will conclude with the state song "Mere Bharat Ke Kanthhaar, Tujhko Shat-Shat Vandan, Bihar". Composed by Satya Narayan, the song was adopted in March 2012 as Bihar's state song. General administration department secretary Md Sohail issued the directives to all departmental heads, the director general of police, divisional commissioners and district magistrates on Sunday. The order directed officials to ensure compliance and stressed on maintaining the prescribed sequence for the singing of songs in government functions and educational institutions. Nikhil Anand, national secretary of BJP OBC Morcha, welcomed the state's decision and said, "This is necessary to understand the socio-cultural value system and spread nationalism." "If schools follow these instructions, sentiments for our motherland will be infused among children. This is necessary for the unity, integrity and evolution of India's collective ethos," he added. The move follows guidelines issued by the ministry of home affairs mandating the singing of the national song and anthem on January 28, 2026. The Supreme Court had on March 25 refused to entertain a petition challenging this order. The top court had then observed that the January 28 circular was purely "advisory in nature" and imposed "no legal obligation" or penal consequences for its non-compliance. Earlier on March 25, the Nitish Kumar government had issued a directive making the national song in school as a mandatory exercise....