Jaipur: In a curious sequence of events between November 29 and 30 in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Rajasthan, it was first announced in the official WhatsApp group of education minister Madan Dilawar that government schools in the state will celebrate December 6 – the day when the Babri mosque was demolished – as Shaurya Diwas (day of valour), with this announcement being later followed by a withdrawal of the “order” and later, an emphatic denial by the director of the school education department.

The incident has resulted in the opposition Congress attacking the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP government in the state, accusing it of practicing communal politics and also for a lack of coordination between ministers, the chief minister and officials. Civil society outfits have also asked for clarification from the education minister.

Announcement made in education minister’s official WhatsApp group

The sequence of events started on the night of November 29, when a press statement along with an undated and unsigned order was sent by the minister’s staff after 9:30 pm in his official WhatsApp group for mediapersons named "Education minister media Jaipur".

“As per the instructions of Madan Dilawar, minister of education and panchayati raj, government of Rajasthan, this year Babri Masjid Demolition Day will be celebrated as Shaurya Diwas on December 6 in all government and non-government schools across the state,” said the statement in Hindi.

The statement added that on the instructions of Dilawar, Sitaram Jat, the director of secondary education department, has issued instructions to celebrate Shaurya Diwas on December 6 in all schools.

“On the occasion of Shaurya Diwas, various educational and cultural activities will be organised on December 6 to awaken and promote the spirit of patriotism, nationalism, valour, bravery, cultural pride, and national unity among the staff and students working in all schools across the state,” the statement added.

An order, which was also shared along with the statement in the group further detailed the types of activities that would take place in the Shaurya Diwas celebrations, including speeches and essay writing competitions on the Ram temple movement, paintings and poster making on the themes of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Surya Namaskar and Yoga along with other cultural activities.

While the order mentioned the name of Sitaram Jat, the director of the secondary education department in Rajasthan, it didn’t have his signature or a date of issuance.

Withdrawal and subsequent denial by education department director

Around 12 hours after the unsigned order and press statement were shared in the education minister’s group, the minister’s staff sent another message in the group after 9 am on November 30 saying that due to unavoidable reasons the order has been withdrawn and also urged mediapersons to not circulate the news pertaining to it.

Later, in another message in the group it was said that in all schools across the state, examinations are at present being held till December 5-6 and it is not possible to organise any other activities. It is because of this reason that activities scheduled for Shaurya Diwas are being postponed, said the message.

After this back and forth about the announcement, what further added to the confusion over the episode was a press statement issued by Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sitaram Jat, the director of the secondary education department, whose name was mentioned as the issuer in the unsigned and undated order shared by the education minister’s staff.

Refuting media reports about the announcement of Shaurya Diwas celebrations in government schools, Jat said that no such decision has been taken by his office and termed the reports as ‘totally baseless and misleading’.

“The claim of the undersigned issuing an order in this regard is incorrect,” said Jat in the press statement.

‘BJP not running a sarkar but a circus’

While education minister Dilawar has not commented on the episode ever since the back and forth over the order, with contradictions in the versions of his office and the officer heading the department under his jurisdiction, the incident has resulted in the opposition Congress launching a scathing attack on the BJP.

“The day the Babri masjid was demolished, they want to mark that day as Shaurya Diwas and teach this to students. What do they (BJP) want to prove? They want to spread hate in the country. Hindu Muslim, Sikh, Christians are all brothers. They want to create divisions among them for political leverage. This kind of shallow politics is not right for the country, state and 36 kaums (all communities),” said state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra.

Congress leaders also took potshots at the BJP over what party leaders termed as “lack of coordination in the government.”

“This is why the BJP government is called a circus and not a sarkar (government) because ministers, the chief minister and cabinet colleagues don’t have coordination. Someone issues an order, then it’s withdrawn and there is also a rebuttal that no such orders were issued. It shows that in order to hide their misrule, they are trying to indulge in communal politics and they stand exposed,” said Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi.

Minister Madan Dilawar: Hindutva face with a knack for controversies

Dilawar, who was given the important portfolio of school education after the BJP came to power in Rajasthan in 2023, is one of the loudest Hindutva voices in the state. He is often in the news for his statements.

Shortly after he took charge as education minister, the education department under Dilawar had directed all government schools in the state to organise collective performances of the Surya Namaskar on the occasion of Surya Saptami on February 15, with the participants including students, teachers/staff, parents and local villagers.

In January 2024, after the consecration at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, videos of Dilawar dancing with joy were widely circulated on social media.

Dilawar had said that he had taken a vow back in 1990 during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement to not wear a garland till the Ram Temple was built in Ayodhya.

After the consecration ceremony, Ramganjmandi MLA Dilawar took another vow, this time to eat only one meal everyday till the consecration of a Krishna Temple in the claimed birthplace of the deity Krishna in Mathura – where the Shahi Idgah mosque now stands.

A veteran MLA and minister, Dilawar was sidelined during the tenure of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, but made a comeback since 2018, when he was made an office bearer of the state BJP after the Raje-led government’s defeat. Since then, as Raje became increasingly sidelined by the central leadership, Dilawar, much like her other detractors, became more influential and was awarded the berth of a cabinet minister in the newly-formed BJP government.

In the past, Dilawar has grabbed headlines for his statements, including during the farm law protests in 2021, when he had termed the farmers’ agitation as a conspiracy to spread bird flu, alleging that ‘so-called farmers’ were enjoying chicken biryani and dry fruits at the protest site.

Back in 2019, Dilawar had prayed at a temple, requesting the deity to give illness and misfortune to those people who were not discarding single-use plastic.

Following the latest row over the Shaurya Diwas celebrations, civil society members have demanded a clarification from Dilawar.

“PUCL demands that the Education Minister himself issue a statement clearly affirming that the government has no plan – either this year or in the future – to conduct such programmes,” said the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in a statement.

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