The Chhattisgarh government wants to save school children from classmate crushes and instead get them to love their parents. Earlier this week, the state education directorate sent out circulars to the district education officers, asking them to ensure that all schools celebrate “Matri-Pitri Divas” or Mother’s and Father’s Day on February 14.
A government spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said that it was “obvious” why the state had chosen Valentine’s Day for such a celebration. “The government would like to enhance the scope of love so that it is not between lovers only, but between parents and children,” he said. “There is also a section of people against Valentine’s Day, so maybe it is a political decision.”
The decision was first taken in 2012 on the suggestion of Asaram Bapu, the Hindu godman who is currently behind bars on charges of assaulting a minor. That year, on a visit to the state, the godman had reportedly impressed on the chief minister the need to realign the day “to prevent the degradation of Hindu culture.”
According to the guidelines issued that year, school authorities were asked to invite the parents for a function that sounded like a puja. After an aarti of their parents, the students were supposed to garland them, apply a tilak to their foreheads and offer them sweets.
“That year, the circular did not come in time,” said Prabhakar Raj Sharma, one of the block education officers of Bijapur district. “But this year we have enough time to make the preparations.”
Bijapur lies in the far south of the state where Maoist rebels are fighting government forces. The conflict has ravaged the area. Adivasi students live in residential schools far away from their villages and homes. How would the school administrations ensure that the students get to garland their parents? Admitting that getting parents to the schools might not be feasible, Sharma said, “We will invite important local people and get the children to garland them. The children would be told, ‘Beta, these people are like your parents only.’”
A government spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said that it was “obvious” why the state had chosen Valentine’s Day for such a celebration. “The government would like to enhance the scope of love so that it is not between lovers only, but between parents and children,” he said. “There is also a section of people against Valentine’s Day, so maybe it is a political decision.”
The decision was first taken in 2012 on the suggestion of Asaram Bapu, the Hindu godman who is currently behind bars on charges of assaulting a minor. That year, on a visit to the state, the godman had reportedly impressed on the chief minister the need to realign the day “to prevent the degradation of Hindu culture.”
According to the guidelines issued that year, school authorities were asked to invite the parents for a function that sounded like a puja. After an aarti of their parents, the students were supposed to garland them, apply a tilak to their foreheads and offer them sweets.
“That year, the circular did not come in time,” said Prabhakar Raj Sharma, one of the block education officers of Bijapur district. “But this year we have enough time to make the preparations.”
Bijapur lies in the far south of the state where Maoist rebels are fighting government forces. The conflict has ravaged the area. Adivasi students live in residential schools far away from their villages and homes. How would the school administrations ensure that the students get to garland their parents? Admitting that getting parents to the schools might not be feasible, Sharma said, “We will invite important local people and get the children to garland them. The children would be told, ‘Beta, these people are like your parents only.’”
A school in the conflict-affected district of Narayanpur
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