New Delhi
Recently it came to light that North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has instructed its schools to chant Gayatri Mantra in morning assemblies. Replying to a notice in this respect, NDMC’s Department of Education has informed Delhi Minorities Commission that it has issued no “order” to schools to chant Gayatri Mantra in morning assemblies, rather it is an “advisory” mentioned in a circular and it is not compulsory. DMC has again written to NDMC that “even an advisory should not be issued for a particular mantra of a particular faith in a multi-religious and multi-cultural secular society. In a secular State, we either do not recite any such mantra or advise schools to choose, from time to time, appropriate texts from any faith to strengthen communal harmony and mutual understanding.” DMC further said in its reply, “We hope no such one-sided advisories will be issued in future because, with passage of time, such advisories become sacrosanct and are treated as compulsory which was not intended in the first place.”