Indian government restores Christmas holidays for public schools

Published: 2004-11-16

NEW DELHI, India (CNS) -- The Indian government has ordered restoration of Christmas holidays at public schools. The Human Resource Development Ministry said it facilitated the move in order to allow minority-religion communities to celebrate Christmas. More than 80 percent of India's 1 billion citizens are Hindu; Christians comprise 2 percent. However, the Christmas holidays had been part of the public school system for more than a century. The ministry announcement earlier this fall overrules last year's controversial decision by the federal government to keep schools open for Christmas. Last year the federal government, then led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, postponed winter holidays until early January. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India said that decision was "nothing but an abrasive attempt to coerce (a) certain ideology and practice on the people" and reminded the government that "a democratically elected government has a duty to uphold the interest of all sections of society."

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