Patna: In a bizarre example of how some groups can bring an establishment on its knees, the Muslim organisations in Bihar forced the Nitish Kumar government to amend its previous circular and make ‘Surya Namaskar’ in schools “optional” instead of “mandatory”.

The previous circular asked the schools to have all students of Class IV to Class VII to attend ‘Surya Namaskar’ function on February 18 at all district headquarters to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

However, with the protests coming from Muslim groups, who believe that ‘Surya Namaskar’ is not permissible in Islam, the government had to back off and amend the circular. “Islam does not permit obeisance to any god other than Allah,” the Muslim clerics said.