The Madhya Pradesh High Court on August 28 directed the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government not to force students to conduct surya namaskar (offering salutation to sun-god) in educational institutions after a church body affirmed the BJP-led regime was imposing itself on even the minority institutions despite an interim order.
Madhya Pradesh Catholic Church in their petition in the court said the state government had made surya namaskar and yogic breathing exercises (pranayam) compulsory in all schools, including those run by minority institutions, and in the process flouting a January 2007 court order.
Petitioner Anand Muttungal also sought action against education department officials for the July directive that made surya namaskar compulsory every Saturday morning. He said the District Education Officers of Rajgarh and Jhabua had issued orders to missionary school in Jhabua and St Joseph High School in Rajgarh to conduct compulsory conduct surya namaskar. The officials said the programme would be monitored and inspected by the visiting Committee. It is believed that though the petition was against July directive, the immediate trigger was the threat by the education officials in these two districts to visit two Christian schools to inspect and oversee if the directive was being followed.
A notice was served by the division bench in Jabalpur headed by Chief Justice A K Patnaik to the chief secretary and principal secretary in the education department along with others asking them to respond within four weeks. After the decision the petitioner felt that the Court indirectly had asked the government to uphold the secular values of the Indian Constitution.
Various Christian and Muslim organisations insisted that such directives went against their freedom to practise their religion as enshrined in the Constitution, which gives minority institutions such liberty.
After the court’s decision, the Madhya Pradesh education minister Archana Chitnis avoided giving comments citing that she is yet to read the court’s order.
The BJP ruled MP government stirred up another controversy of pronouncing bhojan mantra before the midday meals at schools. Chitnis is determined to make the mantra compulsory from Teachers’ Day (September 5) this year.
The minority leaders repeatedly voiced their protest against such decisions. Abdul Latif, Bhopal Quazi said the Muslims would oppose it as wordings of the mantra run contrary to Islamic faith. “When every believer of Islam learns to say bismillah (I begin in the name of Allah) before taking meals, why should such a mantra be forced upon everyone,” said Latif.