Madhepura (Bihar) college denied permission to celebrate Shri Saraswati Devi Puja

A protest by students

The BP Mandal Engineering College (Madhepura) : Protesting students

Samastipur (Bihar) – The BP Mandal Engineering College in Madhepura has banned the celebration of Shri Saraswati Devi Puja on the coming Vasant Panchami. The District Magistrate in Samastipur, on the other side, has threatened to file an FIR against those playing DJ music during the festival.

Bihar: Students protest after govt college denies permission to celebrate Saraswati Puja, threatens legal action on non-compliancehttps://t.co/daBGNJV8Ii

— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 22, 2023

1. Displeasure is being expressed by the students due to the ban on the celebration of Shri Saraswati Devi Puja in ​​the premises of the Engineering College of Madhepura. The diktat issued by the college threatened the students with legal action if the directives prohibiting the celebration of the Hindu festival were violated.

2. According to the agitated students, they requested the authorities to grant them permission to celebrate Shri Saraswati Devi Puja by installing an Idol on campus by giving a written application to Principal Arvind Kumar Amar, but the latter refused to grant permission to install the Idol, escalating the dispute.

(Credit : Zee News)

3. The principal, on the other hand, stated that students approached him to request permission to install an Idol on campus to commemorate Shri Saraswati Devi Puja in the University.  But they were advised to celebrate the festival in all three hostels separately by placing photographs of the Deity. The University administration made it clear that anyone seeking to do Shri Saraswati Devi Puja must do it in their own room. However, they did not accept the decision and huddled. According to the Principal, the decision was made to avert any communal strife.

Editorial viewpoints

• Denying permission to celebrate Shri Saraswati Devi Puja (Deity of Divine Knowledge and Art) in the college is a downfall of the education sector.
• Is Madhepura in India or in Pakistan to impose such a ban ?