Madhya Pradesh school students to answer roll call with ‘Jai Hind’

School students in Madhya Pradesh will now answer roll calls with ‘Jai Hind’ instead of ‘Yes Sir’ or ‘Yes Madam” to instil a sense of patriotism in them.

The school education department issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday, eight months after school education minister Vijay Shah made the announcement.

“The slogan first used by the soldiers of Azad Hind Fauz during their fight for Indian independence will instil a sense of patriotism,” Shah said on Wednesday. He said there was no controversy over this slogan and it was acceptable to the students of all religion.

While now every school student will say Jai Hind, many schools had already put it in practice from October 2017, within weeks of the minister making the announcement. No formal order had been issued then.

The teachers of the schools which had implemented the order said they had noticed a positive change in the body language of the students.

At Manjhgawan government school, Satna, teacher Rajesh Tripathi said, “In the past six months, we saw improvement in the body language of the students. Earlier, they used to mark attendance by saying ‘yes sir’, ‘ji sir’, ‘upasthit hai sir’ and often they used to laugh and giggle during the roll call. Now they are in attention while saying Jai Hind.”

In fact says Tripathi, Jai Hind has so caught on with the students that in some cases it has also replaced the ubiquitous ‘namaste’. “Often when students see me at public places they say Jai Hind, instead of Namaste, much to everyone’s surprise.”

Sandeep Garg , another government school teacher from Satna, said, “With this slogan, students are also learning about the freedom struggle. Their curiosity about Abid Hasan Safrani, who coined the term and Subhash Chandra Bose, who popularised it, also increased. This is also good for communal harmony.”

A student of class 6 Yogendra Singh Gaud said, “I feel proud when I say Jai Hind out loud to mark my attendance. We also compete with each other on who will say it the loudest.”

A student of class 7 Poonam Singh said, “This slogan has inspired me so much that I want to join the armed forces. I am happy with this decision.”