On July 9, the government of India’s Department of Personnel & Training (DOPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, issued an office memorandum (OM) that lifted a 58-year-old ban on the participation of government servants in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Strangely, this OM was made public first on social media some 10 days later, after which sections of the media reported it. The OM was posted on the DOPT website only on July 30.
The publication of the OM followed a July 25 order of a two-judge bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directing the DOPT and the Ministry of Home Affairs to display the OM on the home page of their websites. Hearing the matter initially on July 11, the court had reserved its order, and while doing so mentioned that the July 9 OM was placed before it on July 10. From this, it would seem that the government conveyed its decision on the OM only to the court and did not publicise it.
The ban on government employees taking part in the activities of the Jamaat-e-Islami, however, stays in place.
This story was originally published in frontline.thehindu.com. Read the full story here.
