West Bengal aims to launch 1,000 RSS-run Vidya Bharati schools within a year
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that West Bengal will establish at least 1,000 Vidya Bharati schools, run by the RSS wing, across every district, municipality and panchayat within a year.
At a ceremony marking Vidya Bharati’s 74th anniversary in Kolkata, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari pledged to open at least 1,000 schools run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s education arm Vidya Bharati within the next twelve months, covering every district, municipality and panchayat in West Bengal. He singled out Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas for additional schools, alleging higher levels of anti-national activity there.
Adhikari warned that any school refusing to sing the full Vande Mataram would lose government aid, and he pressed Vidya Bharati to expand its presence. He also called for the education department to follow Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s "One Nation, One Constitution, One Flag, One Leader" principle and blamed the former Trinamool Congress administration for "polluting" educational institutions. Additionally, he opposed a dual-administration model for Aliah University, questioning why the minority affairs department sent him a separate list of Muslim students after he had already honored a diverse group of toppers.
Why it matters
The plan could reshape West Bengal’s education system and intensify the RSS’s influence in the state.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the chief minister’s pledge to open 1,000 RSS-run schools and his criticism of previous governments, but left-leaning coverage emphasizes the politicized accusations of anti-national activity and conditional aid, while centrist coverage highlights the policy goal of nationalistic learning and the blame placed on past regimes for educational decline.
LEFT
Frames the school rollout as a politicized move that ties funding to loyalty tests and accuses opposition parties of fostering anti-national sentiment.
CENTER
Frames the rollout as a policy initiative aimed at nationalistic education, stressing the chief minister’s critique of past governments’ curricula and a zero-tolerance stance on anti-national expressions.
The left emphasises
- alleging higher levels of anti-national activity in specific districts
- warning schools that refuse to sing the full Vande Mataram will lose government aid
- blaming the former Trinamool Congress administration for "polluting" education
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