Christmas celebrations cancelled: Kerala postal employees ‘punished’ after refusing to sing RSS song
New Delhi: This year, the official Christmas celebration saw a controversial move in Kerala: a request for singing “RSS Ganageetham”, an anthem sung by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers.
The request came from the RSS offshoot and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh affiliate Bharatiya Postal Administrative Offices Employees Union (BPAOEU). The celebrations were meant to be organised on Wednesday (December 18) in post offices across Kerala but they were ultimately cancelled, because employees did not want to sing the song the union demanded.
The demand for the song, followed by the cancellation of celebrations, has sparked concern as well as anger.
In a letter addressed to Indian Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Member of Parliament John Brittas said Christmas in India is not observed “merely as a cultural occasion but as an expression of faith, inclusiveness and goodwill”.
The letter, sent on December 17 – a day before the celebration was to be held in Kerala, Brittas’ home state – seeks the minister’s intervention “not to accede to the request reportedly made by the Bharatiya Postal Administrative Offices Employees Union to render RSS Ganageetham during the official Christmas function in Kerala Circle…”
The letter was sent to the secretary, Department of Posts and the Chief Postmaster General, Kerala Circle as well.
Brittas in his letter says that to seek to introduce, in a government office, a song “explicitly associated with a partisan ideological organisation is not only inappropriate, but also profoundly insensitive and against the constitutional principles”.
Brittas, too, in his letter referred to the voices of concern raised over the Sangh-affiliated union’s demand. It urged immediate intervention from Indian minister Scindia, who oversees the Department of Posts as well. The letter stated that the goal was to preserve the dignity of the Christmas celebration for all employees of the department.
