It is believed that a society that is woven together in unity progresses equally on the path of development. Similarly, it is also understood that in our country, some rules are equally applicable to all religions. Take holidays for instance, on 15th August, 26th January, or 2nd October, holidays are uniformly observed throughout the country. However, the Bihar government has issued a calendar regarding children's holidays that teaches them that they are not just students, but they belong to Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian faiths.


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The Education Department of the Bihar government has divided children's holidays this time between Hindus and Muslims. From their perspective, this is an unparalleled experiment in social harmony. However, these calendars have sparked controversy. The controversy lies in why the holidays of schools have been colored in the shades of Hindu-Muslim.


The separate calendars for holidays are nothing but a politics of Muslim appeasement. Even though people associated with the Bihar government may not openly admit it, the truth is that in order to increase the number of Eid holidays and to keep the total number of holidays at 60, important Hindu festivals have been removed from this list.


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Holidays in schools should be determined on the basis of religious equality. It is not that Eid holidays should be abolished in predominantly Hindu schools because Hindu majority students there do not celebrate Eid. Similarly, it should not happen that if there's a Sikh school, holidays for Holi and Diwali are eliminated from their calendar. Nor should it be the case that if there is an Urdu-medium school, Hindu festivals are completely removed from their calendar. Why is the Education Department of the Bihar government discriminating based on religion regarding holidays for general schools and Urdu-medium schools? Can't there be uniform holidays for all schools in the state?