The Bihar government, led by Nitish Kumar, is facing criticism over its holiday calendar in government schools for the academic year 2024. The RJD-JDU coalition government has reportedly reduced the number of Hindu festival holidays and increased the count of Muslim festivals, stirring a debate on religious favouritism.
According to a press release from the Bihar Education Department, the holiday calendar 2024 adheres to the required 220 days of teaching mandated by the Right To Education Act (RTE). However, notable changes include an extension of summer vacations from 20 to 30 days and increasing holidays for Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha (Bakrid) to three days each. This comes at the expense of Hindu festivals such as Hartalika Teej and Jitiya, which have been cancelled.
Several revered Hindu festivals, including Makar Sankranti, Rakshabandhan, Saraswati Puja, Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Bhaidooj, and Shivratri, have been omitted from the holiday calendar. Only four Hindu festivals—Diwali (1), Durga Puja (3), Chhath Puja (3), and Holi (2)—have been included, totalling nine days.
On the other hand, the calendar incorporates six Muslim festivals, including Shab-e-Barat (1), Eid-ul-Fitr (3), Eid-ul-Zoha (3), Muharram (2), Chehallum (1), and Mohammad’s birthday (1), accounting for 11 days. Additionally, Urdu language schools can observe their weekly holiday on Friday instead of the gazetted Sunday holiday.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh took to social media to express their disapproval, with Singh accusing the government of favouring Muslim festivals over Hindu ones and referencing the decision as part of “Ghazwa-e-Hind.” The controversy is reminiscent of a previous decision by the Bihar government to reduce Hindu holidays between September and December, which faced severe backlash and was subsequently withdrawn, only to be reintroduced now.
This debate emerged just a day after Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav made remarks criticizing Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s attire and accusing him of showcasing his Hindu faith for public display rather than genuine devotion during an address to a highly backward caste community in Darbhanga.
