Overview
- Additional District Education Officer Ashok Wadhwa issued the directive on December 22, warning that action will follow if complaints are received.
- The instruction targets private schools and cautions against putting pressure on parents or children to dress as Santa or join related programmes.
- The notice states school managements will be held responsible if any coercion occurs, even as voluntary participation remains permitted.
- The order cites a representation from the Bharat-Tibet Sahayog Manch, notes the district’s Hindu-Sikh majority, and urges sensitivity around December 25, referenced as Veer Bal Diwas.
- The move follows recent local tensions, with reports that police detained six people, including a German couple, over alleged religious conversion near the border.