Jaipur: The jolly red suit of Santa Claus ran into Sanatan lines in Sriganganagar district in the state. A short official order from the additional district education officer cautioned recently that any private school — including those run by missionaries and Christian trusts — found “compelling” students to dress as Santa for Christmas celebrations would face action.“For the past few years, children in schools have been made to dress up as Santa Claus on Christmas Day, even though Sriganganagar district is a predominantly Sanatan (Hindu and Sikh) area,” the order said. “There are very few Christian families here. In such a situation, organising such programmes in schools and putting unnecessary pressure on children is not at all justified.”The order followed a letter sent to the district education office by RSS-backed organisation Bharat-Tibet Sahayog Manch. Its national patron is senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar.
