UP schools to stay open on Christmas Day for Vajpayee centenary programmes, move draws criticism
New Delhi: Government primary and upper primary schools across Uttar Pradesh will remain open on December 25 this year, with students required to attend special programmes marking the birth centenary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, replacing the customary Christmas holiday.
An order issued by the state’s Basic Education Department has made attendance compulsory for students on the day and directed schools to organise speeches, cultural events and remembrance activities celebrating Vajpayee’s life and public service. The directive applies to government-run schools across the state and coincides with the closing phase of official centenary year observances for the BJP co-founder.
The decision follows demands raised by Bajrang Dal leaders in Saharanpur, who had submitted a memorandum urging the government to ensure that December 25 is observed as “Good Governance Day” and “Bal Gaurav Day” rather than Christmas. Maktoob Media reported that the delegation argued that the date should not be used to mark the birth of Jesus Christ and called for schools to focus on activities such as poetry recitations, speeches and essay competitions centred on Vajpayee and educationist Madan Mohan Malaviya.
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The move has triggered strong reactions from Christian organisations, educators and civil society groups, who see it as a marginalisation of the Christian community. They also described it as a departure from the secular ethos of public education. A spokesperson for a prominent Christian group described the order as insensitive to the religious sentiments of Christians, for whom Christmas marks the birth of Jesus and holds deep spiritual significance.
Dr John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council and a member of the National Integration Council, criticised the state government for keeping schools open on Christmas to observe Vajpayee’s birth anniversary. He said replacing a longstanding religious holiday with official commemorations amounted to a deliberate sidelining of Christian faith practices and reflected a broader pattern of exclusion. Dayal warned that such measures contribute to fear and insecurity among Christians, particularly in states witnessing repeated incidents of hostility and violence.
The All India Christian Council and other organizations, in a letter to the Union Home Minister presented data from the United Christian Forum, which showed 834 occurrences of violence or hatred against Christians in 2024 and 706 cases through November 2025. Citing reports of fake conversions, burial rejections, mob violence, and police inactivity, the letter singled out Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as the worst-affected states,
Arguing that schools should uphold constitutional values of equality and coexistence and that national commemorations should not come at the cost of religious inclusion, Dr Nihal Nazim, a government school teacher in Moradabad, said cancelling Christmas sent a message to Christian students that their faith and identity were secondary in public institutions.
Former students echoed similar sentiments. Ansab, an alumnus of a Christian school in Aligarh, said Christmas had long been a shared cultural moment that transcended religious boundaries. Removing it from the school calendar, he said, reinforced a sense of exclusion and aligned with a wider climate of hostility towards minorities.
December 25 has been observed as Good Governance Day since 2014, when the central government declared Vajpayee’s birth anniversary a working day for government offices, effectively removing the Christmas holiday for central government employees. The move had drawn objections from Christian groups at the time as well.
While several other states like Delhi, Punjab and Kerala, continue to recognise Christmas as a school holiday, Uttar Pradesh has extended the observance to schools. Kerala’s education minister has recently cautioned against turning educational institutions into sites of communal contestation, reaffirming the need for inclusive recognition of festivals.
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Davanagere South bypoll: Cong Muslim leaders allege internal conspiracy to defeat party candidate
Bengaluru (PTI): A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference regarding this at the party office here.
"It is a sad thing that some senior leaders of our own party have conspired to defeat the Congress, despite this minorities have voted for the Congress. KPCC President (D K Shivakumar), the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) and the AICC General Secretary (Randeep Singh Surjewala) are aware of this. People have voted for Congress, its ideology and its five guarantee schemes," Ahmed said.
Noting that Samath Mallikarjun was given a ticket after taking all minority leaders of the party into confidence and following their consent, he said, "But after that because of some misconceptions, conspiracies have been hatched. But still, I'm confident that Congress candidate Samarth will win".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership regarding attempts for "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not indicate who they were accusing. Several party sources said their attack was directed at Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, among a few others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, had initially stayed away from campaigning in the segment, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities. However, he addressed a press meet along with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
MLA Arshad said that there was a massive social media campaign against the Congress party, by the BJP, SDPI and Independents, alleging "betrayal" of the minorities by the Congress. Some within the party, too, tried to project the same.
"We indeed demanded a ticket for the minority, and the party considered it. However, since we, as minority leaders, had to provide a unanimous candidate, we only put forward Abdul Jabbar's name because he is the MLC from the region, and he also pressured us. I think we first failed there, as ground-level party workers did not accept it and some other leaders believed he wasn't that popular," he said.
Arshad noted that the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate "after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence".
"However, some of us Muslim leaders who worked for the party's official candidate were projected as anti-Muslim on social media," he claimed.
Some leaders who accepted the party's decision to nominate Samarth as the party candidate during the meeting called to decide it later showed indirect signs of resistance, he said. "An attempt was made by others, including some within the Congress, to project that the Congress has betrayed the Muslims. This has caused us pain."
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
