Samrasta Divas, whose first word means social harmony and reflects the ideological position of the Sangh parivar on the caste system, has been officially offered as an alternative to Dr Ambedkar Jayanti, which the country celebrates on April 14 every year.

National Education Day on November 11, celebrated so because it is the birth anniversary of scholar and freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, will be marked this year with a conference on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who popularised the brand of Hindutva now in vogue.

The two steps — taken by two Union ministries and the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), respectively — mark the latest instances of the “reinvention” of memorable days associated with national icons and others.

The birth anniversary of Azad, the first education minister of India, has been celebrated as National Education Day for the past 12 years, with various events organised to discuss the education system.

However, the ICHR has decided to organise a conference to discuss “Veer (Vinayak) Damodar Savarkar: Life and mission” on November 11.

Azad, who spent his formative years in Calcutta, was highly respected throughout his life for his moral integrity. Opposed to Partition, Azad had advocated a single India where Hindus and Muslims lived in harmony.

Azad was conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1992. The BJP now wants the highest civilian honour to be awarded to Savarkar.

The Sangh parivar sings paeans to Savarkar for multiple contributions. But the renewed glorification since the advent of the Narendra Modi government has not been able to deflect attention from the abject plea for clemency Savarkar had written to the British while he was in prison.

Ashok Bharati, chairperson of the All India Ambedkar Mahasabha, said the ICHR decision amounted to pushing the RSS ideology and Hindutva icons.

The Modi government has had a consistent record of renaming or repositioning calendar days.