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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SC slams police-power nexus, asks court to conclude murder trial against YSRCP MLC by Nov 30
New Delhi (PTI): Observing that the Andhra Pradesh Police is in “complete collusion” with those in power, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the trial against YSRCP MLC Anantha Satya Udaya Bhaskara Rao in a 2022 case of murder should conclude by November 30.
Rao, an MLC of the then ruling YSRCP, is accused of killing his former driver Veedhi Subramanyam, a Dalit, over a money dispute in May 2022 in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesg. He was arrested on charges of murder and atrocity under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act).
Passing a slew of directions with an aim to ensure that the probe and trial ends early, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said in its strong comments, “This is a case of complete collusion and hobnobbing. It is a clear case of the nexus between power and police.”
The bench also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi.
On September 26, 2022, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed Rao's petition seeking default bail in the high profile murder case. The high court said a chargesheet cannot be termed "incomplete" or "defective" simply because it was returned by a court for technical corrections or missing scientific reports.
On December 12, 2022, the apex court granted Rao interim bail, saying the accused cannot be kept in custody.
On Friday, the CJI-led bench perused the case records and said it was apparent that the state police was “hobnobbing” with the accused and yet he did not get bail from the high court.
The bench asked the chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court to entrust the trial in the case to a senior judicial officer who can take up the matter at least once in a week.
While asking the state police to conclude the investigation in the case by March 31, it asked the trial court to complete the issues relating to framing of charges against the lawmaker by April 18, 2026.
The bench granted prosecution time till August 31 to conclude examination of its witnesses in the case.
While granting two months to the accused to lead defence evidence for two months, the bench asked the trial court to conclude the trial by November 30.
It restrained all the courts, including the high court, from passing any order which may lead to halting of trial.
The apex court asked the high court judge in charge of the district where the l will go on to ensure that its procedural directions are followed.
