Madhya Pradesh govt to start diploma course for priesthood, caste no bar

Brahmins across Madhya Pradesh had protested against this proposal to train people from Scheduled Caste as priests.

Updated on: Apr 6, 2017, 07:29:28 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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The Madhya Pradesh government will start a one-year diploma course on ‘Purohitgiri’ (Hindu priesthood). There will, however, be no specifications on caste as both Scheduled Caste and Brahmins can apply for the course.

MP government is introducing a diploma course on ‘Purohitgiri’. (Representative image/Shutterstock)

Brahmins across MP had held protests in May last year against the state government’s proposal to train people from scheduled caste community as priests.

The course called “Purohityam” will be started from July. The candidates will be taught basics of priesthood, rituals, mantras in accordance with the Hindu tradition, said PR Tiwari, director, Maharishi Patanjali Sanskrit Sansthan, the nodal agency for promoting of yoga and Sanskrit in the state.

Tiwari said the aspirants will also be taught “sanskaar” literature (grihya sutras), theory of “sanskaar”, sixteen Hindu “sanskaars”.

“This is for the first time that the state government has initiated such a course. The basic qualification needed is Class 12,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More