The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the 647th Birth Anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas in Varanasi. At the Sant Guru Ravidas Janmasthali temple at Seer Govardhanpur near BHU, the Prime Minister inaugurated the newly installed statue of Sant Ravidas in adjoining Ravidas Park. He also inaugurated various development works around Sant Ravidas Janmasthali worth about Rs 32 crores and laid the foundation stone for the Sant Ravidas Museum and beautification of the park worth about Rs 62 crore.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister welcomed everyone to the birthplace of Sant Ravidas ji on his 647th birth anniversary. Noting the participation of devotees from around the country, the Prime Minister especially lauded the spirit of those coming to Kashi from Punjab and said that the Kashi started to resemble a mini Punjab. The Prime Minister expressed gratitude for revisiting Sant Ravidas ji’s birthplace and forwarding his ideals and resolve. 

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that as the representative of Kashi, he got the opportunity to serve the followers of Sant Ravidas ji. The Prime Minister referred to the schemes for the upgradation of the Janamsthali of Sant Ravidas ji, including the development of the temple area, construction of approach roads, arrangements for worship, prasad etc. The Prime Minister also talked about the new statue of Sant Ravidas and laid the foundation stone of Sant Ravidas Museum. 

The Prime Minister noted that today also marks the birth anniversary of the great saint and social reformer Gadge Baba and highlighted his contributions towards the upliftment of the deprived and poor. PM Modi informed that Baba Saheb Ambedkar was a huge admirer of Gadge Baba’s work and Gadge Baba was also influenced by Baba Saheb. The Prime Minister also bowed before Gadge Baba on his birth anniversary.

The Prime Minister said that Sant Ravidas’s teachings always guided him and he expressed gratitude to be in a position to serve the ideals of Sant Ravidas. He mentioned the recent foundation stone laying of Sant Ravidas Memorial in Madhya Pradesh. 

“It is India’s history that a savior in the form of a saint, sage or great personality emerges at the time of need”, the Prime Minister emphasized, highlighting the Sant Ravidas ji was part of the Bhakti Movement that reenergized a divided and fragmented India. He said that Ravidas ji gave meaning to independence in society and also bridged the social divide. He raised his voice against untouchability, classism, and discrimination. “Sant Ravidas cannot be tied to the ideologies of opinion and religion”, he said, “Ravidas ji belongs to everyone and everyone belongs to Ravidas ji.”  He observed that the Vaishnav community also considers Sant Ravidas ji as their Guru as a disciple of Jagatguru Ramanand, and the Sikh community views him with great adoration. PM Modi underlined that those keeping faith in the Ganga and belonging to Varanasi derive inspiration from Sant Ravidas ji. He expressed delight that the present government is forwarding the teachings and ideals of Sant Ravidas ji while following the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath SabkaVikas’.

Elaborating on Sant Ravidas’s teaching on equality and cohesiveness, the Prime Minister said that equality comes with prioritizing deprived and backward communities and underlined the government’s efforts to take the benefits of government initiative to the people left behind in the development journey. Mentioning ‘the world’s biggest welfare schemes’ the Prime Minister listed free ration for 80 crore Indians. “Such a scheme at this scale is not there in any country of the world”, the Prime Minister said. He said that the construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission benefitted the Dalits, backwards and SC/ST/OBC women the most. Similarly, the Jal Jeevan mission has taken piped water to more than 11 crore households in less than 5 years and cores of the poor are experiencing a sense of security with the Ayushman card.  He also touched upon the massive financial inclusion through Jan Dhan Accounts. Direct Benefit Transfer has resulted in huge benefits, one of them being the transfer of Kisan Samman Nidhi which is benefitting many dalit farmers. The Fasal Bima Yojana is also helping this segment, he said. PM Modi informed that the number of dalit youth getting scholarships has doubled since 2014 and dalit families received crores of rupees in assistance under PM Awas Yojana. 

Prime Minister Modi noted that the intentions of the government towards the upliftment of dalits, the deprived and the poor are clear and that it is the reason behind India’s progress in the world today.  He said that the words of the saints illuminate the path in every era while also cautioning us. Quoting Ravidas ji, the Prime Minister explained most of the people remain entangled in the differences of caste and creed and this disease of casteism harms humanity. He further added that if someone provokes someone in the name of caste, it also causes harm to humanity.

The Prime Minister cautioned against the forces opposed to the welfare of the dalits. He said that such people do politics of dynasty and family under the garb of caste politics. He said dynasty politics prevents such forces from appreciating the rise of dalits and trials. “We have to avoid the negative mentality of casteism and follow the positive teachings of Ravidas ji”, the Prime Minister said. 

Quoting Ravidas ji, the Prime Minister explained that even if one lives for a hundred years, they should work throughout their life because karma is a religion and work should be done selflessly. He said that this teaching of Sant Ravidas ji is meant for the entire country today. Highlighting that India is going through the Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal where a strong foundation has been laid for building a Viksit Bharat, the Prime Minister stressed on strengthening the foundation of VIksit Bharat in the next 5 years. He underlined that expanding the scope of campaigns to serve the poor and the deprived can only take place with the participation of 140 crore countrymen. “We have to think about the country. We have to strengthen the unity of the country by staying away from divisive ideas”, the Prime Minister concluded expressing confidence that the dreams of the citizens will come true with the grace of Saint Ravidas ji.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath and Chairman of Sant Guru Ravidas Janmsthan Temple Trust, Sant Niranjan Dass were present on the occasion among others. 

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DS/TS