Shutting down schools and Government offices in connection with birth and death anniversaries of prominent persons is a bad way to pay homage to these people. Instead, there is need for institutions to remain open and spread the personalities’ message
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s decision, which has also been lauded and followed up by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government in New Delhi, to slash down the number of school holidays owing to the birth and death anniversaries of eminent personalities, has put the spotlight on a larger issue — do we really need so many public holidays, particularly the State-based onesIJ It has pressed upon the need to re-evaluate our existing schedule of public holidays, consider axing some and re-thinking on others so that such significant events represent more about who we are today as a nation.
Indeed, our country has needlessly been saddled with a long list of holidays that not only has been an impediment to the children’s learning process, but has come to cost the economy as well. It is a known fact that India has the largest number of public holidays, which is followed by other Asian giants like Malaysia, China and Hong Kong. A 2014 Mercer report identified India and Colombia as the leading countries in terms of number of public holidays. On similar lines, in 2015, a travel portal, Hotels.com, placed India on the top of the list — with a total of 21 public holidays in a year. The man-days lost in the country due to holidays was estimated by a study in 2000 at s whopping Rs27 billion. The loss figure today would be many times more
Technically, our country observes public holidays in different patterns. First, we have national holidays (like Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti etc). Second, there are holidays owing to the country’s multi-cultural fabric, which covers big festivals of all major religions. However, such holidays vary from State to State as States have their own list which is issued at the beginning of every year. Third, we the have concept of restricted holidays, wherein Government offices work, but employees are free to take the day off if they so desire.
The case of the States granting holidays is most intriguing, as they have been glued to this sentiment in the most blatant manner. Take for example, Uttar Pradesh, which alone observes 42 public holidays, out of which, at least 17 are related to the birth anniversaries of eminent personalities. Successive Governments must be blamed for the institutionalised imposition of holidays in recognition of religious festivals and the presumed historical significance of a leader.
Culturally, India is one of the most diverse countries in the world. There are so many religious groups (which means that there are many number of holidays on religious and linguistic lines); there are so many prominent personalities (and it’s a huge country); and there are so many eminent political icons, (some national, some regional) — while some are important for ethnic reasons, others are for social and economic reasons, not to forget political reasons as well.
Calculations would reveal — after all the privileges of sick and casual leaves, all Saturdays and Sundays, and an additional acknowledgement of eminent people by the State Government, given that they are all important people — that the country fully or partially remains shut for almost half the year, if not more.
For a moment, even if we agree that such holidays must be given, what purpose do they actually achieve in terms of paying tributes to the person on whom holidays are declaredIJ The answer would not be too far to fetch. In this age, such symbolicism means nothing, but is taken for granted. Instead of gathering and reflecting on the importance, we tend to spend it on frivolous activities. Even if one were to undertake a survey, to get an estimate of the actual business done on such days — in schools, colleges and offices across the country — the outcome would not be surprising at all. It’s difficult to articulate them properly.
Take, for example, Ambedkar Jayanti, which is celebrated on April 14 every year. Most people, including students and also some of our leaders, would opine that BR Ambedkar was an indefatigable defender of the rights of the Scheduled Castes. However, none of them would really know that economics was his forte and closest to his heart. He had strong and clear views on how the economy of the country should be. On this, he also stood quite in deviation to Jawaharlal Nehru’s socialist concept.
Similarly, we have holidays on Guru Nanak Jayanti, which is a gazetted holiday. A survey across the country, where a national holiday is observed and wherever it is not a restricted holiday, would reveal that people know about this day. But how many would know about Guru NanakIJ Or about how many Sikh gurus were thereIJ
It, therefore, makes sense, as Chief Minister Adityanath has said, to bring students to school on such days for at least an hour or two, and teach them about the importance of the observation and about the leader’s contribution to society, the State and the country. It is a fact that none of these eminent people would have liked that they should be remembered through holidays like we do today. Instead, they would have wanted to be remembered through a reinforced work culture. While Yogi Adityanath has made the first move, the trend must not end here. His policy should be extended to offices too. A calendar, bloated with holidays, has given birth to an irresponsible work culture, which has rendered the governance process unproductive.
A lot of these holidays were decided upon by our leaders, keeping in mind their political interests. For example, in Uttar Pradesh, previous Governments of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party must be blamed for having declared numerousjayantis on select political leaders for votes. The case of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav stands out, as he alone declared about a dozen holidays during his stint to appease various castes and communities for votes. To win over the Scheduled Caste sentiment, he declared December 6 as the death anniversary of BR Ambedkar. To humour the Rajputs, he announced April 17, which is the birth-day of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, as a holiday. To further consolidate the Thakur vote base, he declared May 9, the birthday of Rajput warrior Maharana Pratap, as a holiday. All of these, only with the hope that people who belonged to these communities, would rally behind him. The Adityanath Government’s decision should, therefore, bring an end to the politicisation of such holidays on caste lines.
Finally, there are many stalwarts who don’t have their birth or death anniversaries observed or observed with the same vigour as that of others. How many of us really celebrate, for example, the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat SinghIJ Or that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose or that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel or lal Bahadur ShastriIJ Observance should be such that it is bipartisan and not driven by political considerations — and by keeping institutions open.
(The writer is Senior Assistant Editor, The Pioneer)