No Gandhi Jayanti holiday this year for Rajasthan universities?
It looks like students of Rajasthan's universities will be attending classes this year on Gandhi Jayanti. In the holiday calendar for the 2017-18 academic session, the only two holidays mentioned for October are for Moharram (October 1) and Diwali (October 13-21). Incidentally, this isn't the first time a BJP government has come under criticism for reportedly removing Gandhi Jayanti as a holiday.
All schools, colleges, universities open, says Higher education minister
The academic calendar issued by the office of Governor Kalyan Singh, also the chancellor of all state universities, has listed 24 holidays for the year, including the birth anniversaries of Ramdev (a local deity), Guru Nanak, Lord Mahavira, BR Ambedkar and Maharana Pratap. According to a Raj Bhawan spokesperson, "The holiday calendar (is) according to the gazetted holiday calendar by the state government."
Should we have holidays on birth/death anniversaries of famous people?
In April, the Yogi Adityanath government announced cancellation of 15 holidays on birth and death anniversaries of social leaders. Afterwards, the AAP government said it will follow UP's lead. But when Goa reportedly tried removing the holiday on Gandhi Jayanti in 2015, there was major backlash. The government later denied cancelling the holiday.
What could be done instead?
As Adityanath announced, the administration could mandate activities themed on the person's life on their birth/death anniversary instead of declaring it a holiday. It will help youngsters get an idea about the person's inspirational life, rather than having just another day to pass time. Even N Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Council for Gandhian Studies, is against having holidays on Gandhi Jayanti.
