To
The Mayor
Delhi
Subject: Objection to the order issued by the Additional Director, Education, asking schools to organise programs to mark the occasion of the idol-consecration ritual at Ayodhya on 22nd January
Madam,
Lok Shikshak Manch wishes to register its objection to the order (Order No : D-650/ADC(HQ)/MCD/2024 dated 20.01.2024; copy attached) issued to MCD schools to organise programs in the context of the religious ceremony held at the under-construction temple at Ayodhya on 22nd January. We wish to summarise our objection on the grounds of the following facts and reasons:
1. As a public body, MCD is expected to uphold and adhere to the Constitutional value of secularism. The said order goes against this mandate and does great disservice to the impartial image and character of MCD schools.
2. It is not clear whether MCD has ever before issued any such orders asking schools to mark an occasion associated with any specific religion. In the light of this unprecedented order, we would like to know if MCD intends to make it a policy to ask schools to mark occasions associated with various religions in future.
3. Need we remind that India in general and Delhi in particular have a diverse cultural and religious population. You would be well aware that students in MCD schools come from diverse religious backgrounds and varied political convictions. In this context, the said order also violates the principle of inclusion which is otherwise given primacy in the Constitution as well as national policies on Education.
4. We are well aware that in many MCD schools, principals and teachers did not agree with the said order and ended up expressing their discomfort by not complying with it. Moreover, this occasion stands out owing to the living history of conflict behind it. We have come to know of cases where some students too have expressed their disapproval with the instructions and refused to participate in the activities suggested under the said order. Given the diversity of religious and political convictions held by both teachers and the communities students come from, all this was inevitable. On the other hand, there were instances of religious symbols being displayed and religious slogans being raised in some schools by children who had got carried away, but the unfortunate fact that they were not checked by teachers in all cases had also to do with the quasi-sanction provided to the exhibition of such fervour by the said order. This shows that the order not only disregarded the constitutional value of secularism, but was also unthoughtful and led to unnecessary and totally avoidable friction in our classes and schools.
5. Even within single ascribed religious identities, all people do not subscribe to exactly the same beliefs. This holds true for all religions and traditions. Thus, contrary to what was imputed by the said order, it cannot be said for any occasion associated with any religious belief that it is marked in the same manner all over India or even that it is observed all over India in the first place. As far as it is the rightful concern of education to engage with religion, the responsibility of schools is to encourage that critical outlook among students which has been exemplified in the historical anti-ritualistic teachings of various personages across centuries in India, rather than reducing religion to karmkand.
6. Moreover, the Constitution gives equal freedom to those who do not subscribe to any religious belief or identify themselves as atheists. The said order completely disregarded this basic fact and the freedom of conscience protected under the Constitution.
In the light of these facts, it is incorrect to claim universality for any celebration or ask all schools (meaning, all teachers and students) to observe an occasion associated with one particular religion. If we already have sufficiently common occasions to celebrate in our schools in the form of the national days associated with our Republic and Independence, then why do we want to force schools to mark partisan occasions or days with which all members of schools are unable to identify?
The said order was also symptomatic of the growing affliction to issue centralised orders for all academic and non-academic issues, thereby trampling upon what little agency teachers used to enjoy as professionals and intellectuals in MCD schools. This shows complete distrust in teachers' sense of discretion and is insulting to their self-worth. After all, teachers are expected to be well aware as to which occasions to mark in their teaching or within their schools, and how. Such centralised, top-down orders seem to imply that teachers are intellectually incapable of or untrustworthy for marking any significant occasion, whether cultural, religious, national, international etc, with pedagogic meaningfulness and for organising events around them to further their students' reflection and understanding.
We would like to remind the MCD of its Constitutional duty to uphold secularism in the working and character of its schools, and its responsibility to serve students from all backgrounds without discrimination. Only by acting in an impartial and just manner will the MCD be able to retain people's trust and uphold its fair name.
We demand that the MCD review the said order and issue strict instructions to all officials to ensure that its schools are run in adherence to the Constitutional value of secularism, so that no reason is manufactured to create division or friction among students and teachers and disturb peace and harmony within schools.
Thanks
Lok Shikshak Manch
Copy
Education Minister, GNCT of Delhi
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