New Delhi: At least 75 government schools, designated CM Shri schools in the national capital, have been directed to light diyas on campus, and their teachers have been asked to visit Class 10 toppers’ homes with diyas and blessings, to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17. Schools have been instructed that they must record videos and upload footage of all the activities and events onto Google Drives. Material for the celebration has been distributed from Chhatrasal Stadium, and reached schools. Diya, cotton, oil distribution to schools, particularly 75 CM Shri schools, has already taken place from Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi for ‘Aashirvaad ka diya’ on September 17, Prime Minister Modi’s birthdayMonth-long birthday celebrations under Seva Sankalp Utsav from September 17 to October 17, which include speech and drawing competitions and a reel-making competitionAll this comes bang in the middle of mid-term examsAn official memo by the assistant director of education (physical education and national integration), in the directorate of education in Delhi, accessed by The Wire, says: “Diya material will be provided only to CM Shri schools as per the prescribed arrangements. All other schools shall arrange the diya material at their own level for the Class X topper students.”The memo lays down activities mandated for schools in the month following September 17, termed Seva Sankalp Utsav by the ruling BJP. These include speech, drawing and reel-making competitions. It is not clear from the communication if only government schools called CM Shri have to undertake these activities, or all government schools in the capital. The activities are to be recorded and uploaded. Also read: Factual Leaps, Anti-Pakistan Slurs and a Plethora of Grammar Errors Mark Bengali Script of Modi’s ‘Birthday Play’A teacher (requesting anonymity) at a CM Shri school said drones are expected to capture the diya formation on school campuses in the evening on Thursday. Government-run schools have come in sharp focus after the Cockroach Janata Party, flush from its unprecedented success in forcing a resignation of the education minister, launched a ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign. The campaign has focussed more on dismal school infrastructure outside Delhi, and not on what goes on inside schools in the name of education.But warning bells on government-run schools turning into event management spaces have been sounded by experts such as Professor Krishna Kumar, former director of NCERT, and a public intellectual, who wrote:“Another senior teacher who resigned found the additional work she was expected to do much too distracting and burdensome. She told me that in her school, a Kendriya Vidyalaya, teachers are turning into event managers. Orders to celebrate this or that occasion come from above, and these orders include the responsibility to upload pictures proving compliance. Principals appreciate the teachers who help the school put up a good show on event days.”Hindus traditionally light diyas to mark the return of the deity Ram to his home in Ayodhya after exile, as part of annual Diwali celebrations. But during Modi’s tenure, the state has ordered citizens to light diyas on the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, besides upping the celebration of ‘Dev Deepawali’, a few days after Diwali, with lakhs of lit diyas on the ghats of Varanasi. Schools as captive spaces?Schools have emerged as captive venues for government programmes. This is in sharp contrast to images thrown up by the CJP’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign. Earlier this year, at least 72 Delhi government schools were used to house delegates attending a tribal communities’ convention organised at the Red Fort by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated organisations. Union home minister Amit Shah was the chief speaker at the event. Many Adivasi groups and activists boycotted the convention, arguing that “the fundamental ideology underpinning this conclave is anti-Adivasi”. An official communication issued by the Directorate of Education at that time stated: “Competent Authority has granted permission to Janjati Suraksha Manch for arranging accommodation facilities for delegates and guests from May 21 to May 25 in identified 72 schools”.