The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has ignited controversy by altering the holiday calendar in government schools for the academic year 2024. The RJD-JDU coalition government is said to have reduced the number of holidays for Hindu festivals while increasing the count for Muslim festivals. According to a press release from the Bihar Education Department, the adjustments were made to meet the required 220 days of teaching per the Right To Education Act (RTE). 

The changes include an extension of summer vacations from 20 to 30 days and an increase in holidays for Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha (Bakrid) to three days each, at the expense of Hindu festivals like Hartalika Teej and Jitiya, which have been cancelled. Notably, revered Hindu festivals such as Makar Sankranti, Rakshabandhan, Saraswati Puja, Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Bhaidooj, and Shivratri have been omitted totally from the holiday calendar. 

Only four Hindu festivals, including Diwali, Durga Puja, Chhath Puja, and Holi, have been included, totalling nine days. In contrast, the holiday calendar features six Muslim festivals, comprising shab-e-barat, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Zoha, Muharram, Chehallum, and Prophet Mohammad’s birthday, accounting for a total of 11 days.

Also, Urdu language schools have the option to schedule their weekly holiday on Friday instead of the designated Sunday holiday.

Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh took to social media platform X to write about the issue. He wrote, “Islamic Republic of Bihar. Nitish and Lalu government extended holidays for Muslim festivals in schools, ended holidays for Hindu festivals.”

In another post where he shared a video, he said, “Once again, for the third time, the Nitish government has issued a Tughlaq-style order. And I would like to say that the way the Hindu holidays have been reduced, for great festivals like Shivratri, Janmashtami, and the holidays of Muslim festivals like Eid and Bakrid have been increased, it is clear that the Nitish government is working based on Islamic religion in Bihar. And for this reason, in places like Araria, Purnea, Katihar, Kishangan, there are holidays in schools on Fridays. Now, it seems the government is planning to have Islamic-style holidays on Fridays throughout Bihar. The way the government is cutting off our holidays, if these holidays are not extended again, then the effects of this will have to be borne by Nitish Kumar in the upcoming elections. He will not be called Nitish Kumar, but Muhammad Lalu Jadhav and Muhammad Nitish Kumar.”

He further wrote, “Many Hindu festival holidays have been cancelled in Bihar, and Eid Muharram holidays have been extended; this is also a part of Ghazwa-e-Hind.”

Union Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, also spoke up on this issue. Speaking to ANI, he said, “The leader of appeasement – Kursi Kumar of Bihar. Once again, the anti-Hindu face of the government of ‘Chacha-Bhatija’ has come to the fore. On the one hand, the number of Muslim festival holidays is being increased in schools, and on the other hand, the Hindu festival holidays are being scrapped…”

He also posted on X, “Bihar will not tolerate a divisive government. The pro-Muslim Nitish-Tejashwi government has abolished holidays for many holy Hindu festivals from schools. This planned attack on Sanatan will not be tolerated. Nitish Babu, the people of Bihar understand your appeasement game very well.” 

The present contentious decision echoes a previous move by the Bihar government, wherein Hindu holidays between September and December were reduced from 23 to 11 days.

During that period, the Rakshabandhan holiday was eliminated, the number of holidays for Durga Puja was reduced from six to three, and nine holidays for Diwali to Chhatth were reduced to four.

Facing significant backlash, the government had to retract the decision, only to reintroduce it now.

This controversy emerged just a day after Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, addressing an extremely backward caste community in Darbhanga, ridiculed UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s attire and criticized him for “displaying” his Hindu faith. Yadav remarked that ringing bells during Hindu prayers, wearing a tilak (a Hindu symbol on the forehead), and donning saffron robes are not genuine acts of devotion and do not put food on the table; they are merely for show.