Amid an ongoing controversy after Karnataka School Education Minister BC Nagesh said schools and colleges can celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, Karnataka Wakf Board Chairman Shafi Saadi said that the Education Department must also permit them to celebrate Eid Milad. Karnataka School Education and Literacy Minister BC Nagesh had told reporters on Wednesday, August 17, that schools and colleges that have previously held Ganesh Utsav celebrations on their grounds are free to do so again this year. “There's no reason to stir up any conflict. These customs have been authorised because they bind the community," Nagesh had said.
The minister’s remarks were criticised, especially in view of the Karnataka High Court’s judgment in the hijab case. The hijab verdict had upheld a state government order prohibiting all religious symbols, including hijabs and saffron shawls, from being worn in classrooms, when a school or college had a prescribed dress code. However, the judgment had not said anything regarding the celebration of religious festivals.
Speaking to a Kannada news channel, Wakf Board Chairman Shafi Saadi said, “Children must be made aware of their religion, and also the rituals associated with it. If they are exposed to this in school and college, they will have moral growth … Students who celebrate Ganesh Utsav must be allowed to celebrate Ganesh Utsav, and those who celebrate Islamic festivals must be allowed to do so … When this happens, distrust between different religious groups disappears.”
He noted that schools that celebrate Ganesh Utsav also have Muslim and Christian students, and if all festivals are celebrated equally, it would reduce tension when schools decide to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. “I appeal that in schools and colleges, Hindu students should be able to celebrate Ganesh Utsav and Muslim students Eid Milad. Hindus should be taught awareness of the Bhagavad Gita, Muslims about the Quran and Christians about the Bible,” he added.
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The Chairman of the Wakf board appealed to the managements of all schools and colleges to let students celebrate whatever festival they want to. “All religions teach peace, happiness and friendliness. This is essential for children to learn,” he said.
Regarding the permission to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, Minister Nagesh had told The Hindu that Ganesh Utsav must not be treated as a religious programme but as “a movement.” He said that it has been celebrated since India’s independence, and that the festival would unite people.
(With IANS inputs)