HARIDWAR: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone of what is being claimed will be the "world's largest gurukul," at a ceremony in Haridwar on Saturday.
At the event hosted by yoga guru Swami Ramdev's Patanjali group, Singh underlined the contribution of ancient gurukuls to Indian culture and added that "present-day gurukuls will be emblems of purity and morality, and serve as models for other educational institutions... It will give impetus to cultural development."
Singh added: "While there is no denying that modern education is the need of the hour, our cultural heritage must be protected as well. For this, we need gurukuls. Unlike old gurukuls, these are modern using state-of-the-art facilities. Hopefully, they will use emerging and cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence, and even go beyond." Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi were present at the event. Over 30,000 people from Haridwar and its neighbouring areas also attended.
Ramdev had on Thursday announced plans of over Rs 800 crore investment in the 118-year-old Gurukul Mahavidyalaya at Haridwar in whose 300-bigha campus the gurukul is being set up.
"In the next five years, Patanjali will invest Rs 5 to 10 thousand crore over different educational projects," Ramdev had said. At the event on Saturday, the yoga guru said, "We were educated at a gurukul and had a humble beginning. But we have succeeded in establishing a huge economic empire, every penny of which will be used to serve human beings."
Acharya Balkrishna referred to the heydays of Gurukul Mahavidyalaya which had been visited by five PMs in the past. "It lost its glory in the last few decades. But with Patnjali coming to its rescue, it will regain the same in the years to come," he said.
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