Rajasthan district schools ‘forcing’ kids to dress as Santa to face action

JAIPUR: The jolly red suit of Santa Claus ran into Sanatan lines in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district. An official order from the additional district education officer cautioned that any private school, including those run by missionaries and Christian trusts, found “compelling” students to dress as Santa for Christmas would face action.“For the past few years, children in schools have been made to dress up as Santa Claus on Christmas Day, even though Sriganganagar district is a predominantly Sanatan (Hindu and Sikh) area,” the order said. “There are very few Christian families here. In such a situation, organising such programmes in schools and putting unnecessary pressure on children is not at all justified.”The order followed a letter sent to the district education office by Bharat-Tibet Sahayog Manch.

Its national patron is senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar. Ashok Wadhwa, the officer behind the order, was unavailable for comment. The education minister’s office clarified that the move did not originate from Jaipur. “No instructions on this issue were issued by the minister or from the state education directorate,” an official from education minister Madan Dilawar’s office said Tuesday. “This decision was taken at a local level.”