Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government cancelled “Milad un-Nabi” holiday along with 14 other public holidays.
State Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath decided to cancel 15 such public holidays in educational institutions.
However, according to the news published in Hindustan Times, the move to cancel the holiday on Milad un-Nabi is likely to raise eyebrows as it is a holiday in most other states, including almost all BJP-ruled states.
UP Muslim clerics also surprised by the Yogi Adityanath government’s decision to cancel holidays on Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi as well as on the occasion of ‘Alvida’.
“Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days,” Cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said while briefing mediapersons on the decisions of the government.
An official release later clarified that government employees were free to avail restricted holidays on these days.
Adityanath had in his address on the occasion of Dr BR Ambedkar’s 126th birth anniversary here expressed concern over the shrinking academic session due to increased holidays.
“There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities. Instead, a special two- hour programme should be held to teach students about them. The 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays and if this tradition continues, there will be no day left for teaching in schools,” he had said.
In Uttar Pradesh, there are 42 public holidays of which at least 17 are related to the birth anniversaries of eminent personalities.
The previous Samajwadi Party government had declared holidays on the birth anniversaries of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar (April 17), Maharishi Kashyap and Maharshi Nishadraj Jayanti (April 5), Hazrat Ajmeri Garib Nawaj Urs (April 26), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9) besides on the death anniversary of Ambedkar (December 6).
Sharma said the revised list of holidays will soon be made available.
Public holidays that have been scrapped by the government include Jan Nayak Karpori Thakur birth anniversary (Jan 24), Maharshi Kashyap and Maharaj Guha birth anniversary (Apr 5), Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Ajmeri Gareeb Nawaz Urs on (Apr 14), Chandrashekhar birth anniversary (Apr 17), Parashu Ram Jayanti (Apr 28), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9), Jamat Ul Vida on June 23 (last Friday of Ramzan), Chhat Puja (Oct 26), Eid Milad Un Nabi (Dec 2), Chaudhary Charan Singh Jayanti (Dec 23).