The order directing all schools in the state to observe December 6 as Shaurya Diwas drew strong criticism from the opposition and several Muslim groups
JAIPUR — The Rajasthan government on Sunday (November 30) withdrew a controversial order directing all schools in the state to observe December 6 — the anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition — as Shaurya Diwas. The decision was recalled after it drew strong criticism from the opposition and several Muslim groups.
As the order was recalled, a stark contradiction in statements between School Education Minister Madan Dilawar and Director of Secondary Board Education Sitaram Jat surfaced. Dilawar said that it was not possible to hold any other activities or events on campus as exams are in progress, whereas Jat said that no such order was issued by him.
The order released on an official WhatsApp group on Saturday night (November 29) was recalled on Sunday morning citing “unavoidable circumstances.”
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the order has been taken back,” the clarification read.
The withdrawn circular, addressed to all Divisional Joint Directors of School Education, had directed that Babri Demolition Day be observed as Shaurya Diwas, instructing government and private schools to organise activities aimed at “instilling patriotism” among students and staff.
The directive proposed essay competitions on Indian cultural pride and the Ram Mandir movement.
Schools were asked to organise painting contests on Ram Mandir and Indian warriors, and display exhibitions on the Ram temple.
According to the department, exams will be held in schools on December 5 and December 6. “Since examinations are in progress in all schools, it is not possible to hold any other activities or events on campus. Therefore, the Shaurya Diwas programmes stand postponed,” Dilawar said in a statement.
However, Sitaram Jat denied issuing any such directives. “No such directions have been issued to the schools. I don’t know how it is being circulated,” he was quoted by Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying.
The order drew sharp criticism from the Congress and Muslim groups.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Rajasthan, rejected Jat’s denial, calling it “doubtful” and “an attempt to conceal the government’s suppressed intentions.”
“It is impossible and absurd that newspapers across the state would publish such news on behalf of the government without basis,” PUCL said in a statement.
Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi criticised the move, saying the demolition of the Babri Masjid “was a crime” and accused the BJP government of “distorting historical events and attempting to burden schoolchildren with its political narrative.”
“This government wants to teach children that the day the Babri Masjid was demolished was a day of bravery. By doing so, they will destroy the religious atmosphere,” Govind Singh Dotasra, Congress state president, said.
Mohammed Nazimuddin, general secretary of the Rajasthan Muslim Forum, said, “Ours is a secular nation. How can the government compel students to commemorate the demolition of a mosque.”
Many users on X pointed out that the Supreme Court, in its November 2019 judgment, had described the demolition of the Babri Masjid as an “egregious violation of the rule of law.” Despite this, the BJP-led Rajasthan government had initially instructed schools to celebrate December 6 as Shaurya Diwas.
Thirty-three years ago, a mob of thousands of Hindus demolished the Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya. The mosque was reduced to rubble by the mob which claimed that an ancient Ram temple stood at the same site.
The demolition of the mosque triggered widespread anti-Muslim violence across the country. The unrest continued for months, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,000 people, marking some of the worst communal riots the country had seen since Independence in 1947.
The trial court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) delivered its verdict in the case involving 32 accused, including former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, now 92, who was once considered a mentor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Supreme Court awarded the mosque site to the Hindus in 2019 handing the BJP a victory to drive home its Hindutva and anti-Muslim agenda. In its ruling of November 2019, the Supreme Court allocated the entire 2.77-acre site — where the Babri Masjid once stood — for the construction of a Ram temple, though the top court simultaneously acknowledged that the demolition of the mosque in 1992 was a criminal act.
In 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the temple’s construction, fulfilling one of the key promises made by the BJP since its early years in the 1980s, when the Ram temple campaign played a central role in the party’s rise to national prominence.
On 22 January 2024, PM Modi opened a Hindu temple built on the ruins of the historic Mughal-era mosque. — With inputs from agencies
