Bihar Chief Minister paid tributes to Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas on his 650th birth anniversary in Patna on August 7, 2026. Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
By A Correspondent
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday launched the Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan (Social Harmony Campaign) to commemorate the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas, announcing a series of initiatives aimed at promoting the saint’s message of equality, social harmony and humanity across the state.
Launching the campaign by lighting a ceremonial lamp at Gyan Bhawan in Patna, Samrat Choudhary said the Bihar government would take Guru Ravidas’ teachings to every village and ensure that his ideals reached the last person in society. As part of the campaign, soil from Guru Ravidas’ birthplace will be distributed at the district, block and panchayat levels, while monasteries, temples, religious institutions, hamlets and families seeking it will also receive the sacred soil.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister described Guru Ravidas as a symbol of social harmony, humanity and selfless service, saying that his message, delivered nearly 650 years ago, remains relevant in modern society. He said that the saint’s teachings were embraced by people from different communities and were also included in the scriptures associated with Guru Nanak. He stressed that India’s social fabric had been built through the collective contributions of saints and reformers, including Guru Ramanand, and called for unity instead of divisions based on caste or social status.
Samrat Choudhary said the state government would continue working to spread Guru Ravidas’ ideals while strengthening education, social justice and inclusive development. He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring that quality education and development reached every section of society.
Highlighting education reforms, the Chief Minister said residential schools with hostels named after Mata Savitribai Phule were being established in every district to improve access to education for girls from Dalit communities. He also announced that government schools would introduce live coaching for NEET and JEE aspirants and provide online teacher support until 11 pm from August 15, enabling students from economically weaker families to access academic assistance comparable to that available in private institutions.
He said Bihar had opened 211 degree colleges to reduce the need for students to pursue higher education outside the state. Teacher shortages would be addressed, around 32,000 teachers would be recruited under the TRE-4 recruitment process, and nearly 9,000 additional teaching posts were also being planned. The government is also working to revive Bihar’s historic educational legacy by developing Vikramshila University in Bhagalpur after the revival of Nalanda University.
The Chief Minister further announced plans to establish a university dedicated to literature in Begusarai in the name of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, an Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science University in Bhagalpur named after Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, and a university specialising in architecture and civil engineering in Muzaffarpur in memory of freedom fighter Jubba Sahni.
Speaking on social justice, Samrat Choudhary said reservation policies had evolved through the contributions of leaders from different ideological backgrounds. He highlighted the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations and the introduction of 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) by the Narendra Modi-led government.
Emphasising inclusive development, the Chief Minister said people of all religions and communities must move forward together and reiterated the need to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”. A short film on the life and teachings of Guru Ravidas was screened during the event, which was attended by several state ministers, legislators, BJP leaders, saints and a large number of people.
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