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Punjab CM lays foundation stone of Guru Ravidas study centre
The ₹37-crore centre, coming up on 10.4 acres at Dera Sachkhand Ballan, will house teaching facilities, hostels and research infrastructure
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a centre dedicated to the study of the life and philosophy of Guru Ravidas at Dera Sachkhand Ballan, a prominent spiritual centre of the Ravidassia community.
The Sri Guru Ravidas Bani Adhyayan Centre will come up on 10.4 acres at a cost of ₹37 crore, including ₹11 crore spent on land acquisition.
Mann laid the foundation stone in the presence of dera head Sant Niranjan Dass.
Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said the foundation stone was laid as part of the Punjab government’s year-long celebrations of the 650th Parkash Purb of Guru Ravidas, for which ₹100 crore has been earmarked.
“The centre will have a three-storey administration and teaching block, three-storey boys’ and girls’ hostels with accommodation for 54 students each, and a two-storey building for teachers and staff. It will provide children, students and research scholars a dedicated space to study the life, Bani, philosophy and teachings of Guru Ravidas and undertake research that carries the light of his wisdom and message across the world,” Mann said.
He said the state government will leave no stone unturned in celebrating the 650th Parkash Purb of Guru Ravidas, who had envisioned an egalitarian society free from discrimination.
“I hope that this centre will act as a lighthouse for further perpetuating the ideology of the spiritual leader so that our future generations can seek inspiration from his Bani,” he said.
Linking the initiative to the state government’s wider efforts in education, Mann said the government had prioritised education and has taken path-breaking initiatives in the education sector to transform the lives of people.
“No freebie or concession cards can eliminate poverty or other social maladies in the state, but education is the key that can pull people out of this vicious circle by raising their standard of living. Therefore, our government is tirelessly making efforts to improve the standard of education to empower the common people,” the chief minister said.
He was accompanied by ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, and others.
Credit war
The research centre has been at the centre of a political credit battle between the Congress and the AAP.
The centre was first announced in 2021 by then chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who had sanctioned a ₹50-crore grant and released the first instalment of ₹25 crore on December 31 that year. After coming to power in 2022, the AAP government withdrew the grant. On March 25, 2023, however, Mann and then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan and revived the project, announcing fresh funding of ₹25 crore.
The renewed focus reflects the political importance of the dera, which commands considerable influence among the Dalit community in the Doaba region. At 32%, Punjab has the country’s highest proportion of Scheduled Caste population, with nearly 45% based in Doaba, a belt comprising 23 assembly constituencies.
The dera’s electoral influence was evident in the 2022 assembly elections, when the Congress retained its foothold in parts of Doaba despite the AAP’s sweeping victory across Punjab. Channi remains a frequent visitor to the dera.
The BJP-led central government has also stepped up its outreach to the community in recent months with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the dera on February 1. The Centre has recently conferred the Padma Shri on Sant Niranjan Dass.
The BJP has also launched a nationwide ‘Kalash Yatra’, carrying soil from Seer Govardhanpur, ahead of the 650th birth anniversary celebrations next year.
