A fortnight ahead of the installation of Lord Ram's idol in Ayodhya Ram Mandir, on Tuesday, Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha announced that the civic education department will organise a slew of contests on the theme of 'Prabhu Shri Ram' between January 10 - 17. Helmed by Lodha, the announcement came despite opposition's vitriol to the move who have deemed it the saffronisation of education in municipal schools. Speaking to reporters, Mangal Prabhat Lodha said, "On January 22, Bhagwaan Shri Ram's idol will be installed at Ayodhya Ram Mandir. The entire country is enthusiastic about the event. To celebrate the same, we are organising contests under the "Shriram Jeevan Charitra Spardha" in Mumbai's civic schools. We are doing this along with the BMC and some NGOS. We are expecting over two lakh students to participate in the contests. Between January 10 to 17, we will be organising essay writing, poetry writing, drama and drawing contests in all BMC schools." The various themes for these competitions entail - Shriram: Our Revered Idol and Exploring the Ramayana in My Understanding, Creating the Shriram Temple of my Dreams, The Defeat of Ravana and Ram Setu, Key Events in the Ramayana amongst others. All the competitions will be held at individual school levels. Considering various winners from all categories, BMC has allotted Rs.5423000 to cover a total 16078 awards. Lodha's announcement on Tuesday came along the heels of a letter dated December 15, 2023 wherein Lodha had directed the civic body to organise an array of competitions on the subject of 'Prabhu Shri Ram' between January 1 and 15 in a bid to raise awareness about "the ideals of Shri Ram and good governance". The letter drew flak from members of the opposition including Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh who wrote to the Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde as well as Deputy Chief ministers, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, demanding them to stop the saffronisation of education as well as the illegal intervention of the guardian minister in administrative affairs. Launching a scathing attack on the announcement, Shaikh told The Indian Express, "This is complete misuse of political power. As a guardian minister, his job is not to issue directives to the education department. It is disturbing the secular fabric of the institution. Lodha is playing the saffron card as he is contesting elections from the city." Responding to the criticism, Lodha said the contests are not mandatory. "These contests are not compulsory. This is not a matter of religion. Ram is an adarsh purush and the biggest of all. The Ayodhya temple is being made as per the Supreme Court orders and through a proper committee. Anyone who wants to participate is welcome to do so," Lodha said. Besides this, Lodha announced that the civic body is slated to organise 'Krida Mahakumbh' between January 26 and February 19 in a bid to commemorate the 350th anniversary celebrations of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He added, "During the course of 23 days, we will be organising contests on 16 to 17 traditional, desi games across 27 city grounds. The programme will launch on January 26 from Kurla and conclude on February 19 at the new sports complex established in Malwani."
