Imagine a child standing in a government school assembly. Teachers are present. Classmates are reciting together. The programme has been prescribed by the State. The State told the Court that no punishment was prescribed for a student who chose not to recite. Yet, the judgment identifies no express opt-out or explains how a child would know that remaining silent is permitted.
Is the child participating voluntarily? Or do the authority of the school and the visibility of refusing to join everyone else create their own pressure?
This is the constitutional question beneath the Chhattisgarh High Court’s decision concerning the Gayatri Mantra, Saraswati Vandana, Guru Mantra, and other Sanskrit invocations in government schools.
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.
