MP Sudha Murty speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Winter session of Parliament.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha-nominated MP Sudha Murty on Tuesday urged the government to make it compulsory to sing the national song 'Vande Mataram' in primary and high schools.
"I am standing here not as an MP, philanthropist or author. I am standing here as a daughter of Mother India or Bharat Mata," she said, participating in a discussion commemorating the 150th anniversary of the song.
Describing India as a quilt where each state is a coloured piece of cloth, she said the "thread and needle binding them together is Vande Mataram".
"It is not the map or flag, but the concept of land as motherland. It is not just a piece of land, it is the motherland," she said.
Making a case for teaching the song in schools, she said: "We teach our children the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana'. It takes three more minutes to teach Vande Mataram. We are not teaching that. In the course of time, our children will lose the entire text of Vande Mataram."
"I request the education department, particularly in formative years and high school, that it should be made compulsory. Patriotism always accompanies compassion, sacrifice and conserving the land. Vande Mataram describes all of this," Murty said.