The Rajasthan Education Department Sunday morning withdrew an order to celebrate December 6 as ‘Shaurya Diwas’ in schools, just 12 hours after issuing it. December 6 is the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, which was supposed to be celebrated as ‘Shaurya Diwas’ in both public and private schools in Rajasthan following the instruction of Education and Panchayati Raj Minister Madan Dilawar.
According to the order, Director of Secondary Education Sitaram Jat circulated guidelines to schools, asking them to organise a series of educational and cultural activities on December 6 to promote “patriotism, nationalism, bravery, cultural pride and national unity” among students and staff.
However, at 9.15 am on Sunday, the minister withdrew the order. In a statement issued, Dilawar stated, “All schools in the state are currently conducting examinations, which will be held from December 5 and 6. Therefore, it is not possible to conduct any other activities or events in schools during the examination period. Therefore, the ‘Shaurya Diwas’ celebrations are postponed.”
However, the minister defended the decision to celebrate the day. Dilawar said Lord Ram represents the ideals of Indian culture, and that the Ram Mandir movement symbolises cultural pride. He stated that learning about the Ram Janmabhoomi movement will “inspire students and instil a spirit of patriotism and national unity”.
As part of the proposed celebrations, schools were asked to conduct speech and essay competitions on Indian culture and the Ram Temple movement, as well as painting and poster-making activities themed on the Ayodhya Ram Temple. Patriotic song presentations, folk dance performances, and short plays based on historical or mythological episodes were also proposed.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
