New Delhi: Government offices are meant to serve the public, not act as platforms for any ideological group. Yet, 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, reportedly 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 Union 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 acceede 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 says in his letter that to seek to introduce, in a government office, a song “explicitly associated with a partisal ideological organisation is not only inappropriate, but also profoundly insensitive and against the constitutional principles”.According to a report in Kerala-based Matrubhumi newspaper, apart from the RSS Ganageetham, the BPAOEU had asked the Kerala postal department to include Ganapati stuti (worship of the Hindu god Ganesha) in the Christmas and New Year celebrations in the state.According to the paper, G.R. Pramod, general secretary of the Central Government Employees’ Organisation (CCGEW) called the postal department’s decision to cancel the celebrations a “surrender before sectarian forces and an attack on the secular traditions of central government institutions”.Government offices are not ideological platforms. Introducing “RSS Ganageetham” into an official Christmas celebration violates constitutional secularism and insults minority faiths. It was a deliberate attempt to appropriate or overshadow a religious celebration with an… pic.twitter.com/LJRRZxqd0T— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) December 18, 2025Brittas, too, in his letter referred to the voices of concern raised over the Sangh-affiliated union’s demand. It urged immediate intervention from Union 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.“The contents of the union’s letter, including its repeated invocation of ‘patriotism’ as a justification, are particularly troubling. Patriotism does not flow from affiliation to any ideological organisation, but from fidelity to the Constitution of India,” Brittas, a Rajya Sabha MP, wrote.He emphasised that the objections raised by employees against being made to sing a RSS volunteers’ anthem wasn’t just about song choice – it clashed with constitutional secularism and can feel like “an insult to the faith of minority communities and as a deliberate attempt to appropriate or overshadow a religious celebration with an unrelated ideological agenda”.In a post on X accompanying the letter to Scindia, Brittas wrote that instead of addressing the issue or rejecting an unreasonable ideological demand, the administration cancelled the Christmas celebration instead. Employees who spoke up now face the consequences.In trying to “comfort the strong and discipline the vulnerable,” the administration has sidelined employees’ right to celebrate a major festival. Who does this serve – the BMS-affiliated union pushing the agenda, or the employees simply wishing to observe Christmas with dignity?” Brittas said in the post.He also highlighted that when official spaces become battlegrounds for ideology, the ones who suffer are the ordinary people trying to live and work with respect for everyone’s beliefs.Student union Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) also issued a statement critical of the posal department’s decision. It said, “illegal or sectarian activities should not be permitted at the Postal Department”, Madhyamam reported on Thursday.The Bharatiya Janata Party, whose ideological parent is the RSS, has reportedly tried to woo Kerala’s Christian voters, but it has often invited backlash as a result of the actions of its affiliates and members. Last Christmas, a controversey errupted over an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI).The Union government also marks Christmas week (December 19 -25) as “Good Governance Day” since Modi became prime minister in 2014. December 25 is former Prime Minister and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary.In 2024, citizens participated in protests against attacks, allegedly by Hindutva-affiliated groups and individuals, on celebrations during Christmas. Such attacks have been reported in previous years as well.