‘Narrow monolithic view of festivals’: AADTA on DU observing Eid-al-Adha as working day

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s teachers’ body, AADTA, has opposed the Delhi University’s notification which announced June 29 as a working day despite it being the festival of Eid-al-Adha. The DU teachers body termed the decision as “narrow monolithic view of the festivals”.

DU, in a notification, said that all the employees of the university who want to celebrate the festival are exempted from visiting the office. The university reasoned that the decision has been taken to complete the arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the university.

The teachers’ body called out the university for making a gazetted holiday optional. In a statement, AADTA said that the festival has been already incorporated in the university calendar as a gazetted holiday.

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“The festivals in India evolved transcending religiosity and acquired cultural rootings with celebration and observation by diverse socio-religious groups across the country. Gazetted notification confirms to the constitutional spirit of secularism, whereas DU notification has taken a very narrow monolithic view of the festivals,” AADTA said.

The teachers’ body argued that the date of Eid-al-adha is fixed as the days of other festivals such as Holi, Dussehara, Diwali, Guru Purab, Christmas, etc are fixed.

“The observation of this Eid spreads the message of sacrifice for social good and welfare,” AADTA added. The teachers’ organisation further stated that a valedictory function cannot be placed in the “emergency category” to cancel a gazetted holiday.