Gita Press trustee Baijnath Agarwal passes away, CM Yogi expresses grief

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said his demise has caused irreparable loss to the society

Baijnath Agarwal, the trustee of Gita Press Gorakhpur, passed away at his residence in Gorakhpur following a brief illness early on Saturday. He was 90. Condoling his death, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said his demise has caused irreparable loss to the society.

Baijnath Agarwal, 90, (in pic) is survived by his wife and five sons. (Sourced)

Taking to social media platform, X, Yogi said, “The demise of Shri Baijnath Aggarwal, Trustee of Gita Press, Gorakhpur is extremely sad. As a trustee of Gita Press for the last 40 years, Baijnath ji’s life has been dedicated to social awareness and human welfare. His demise has caused irreparable loss to the society. May Lord Shri Ram grant the departed soul a place at His feet and the bereaved family members and the entire Gita Press family the strength to bear this immense loss. Om peace!”

The CM also talked to Agarwal’s younger son Devi Dayal Agarwal over the phone and expressed his grief. Agarwal is survived by his wife and five sons. Manager, Gita Press, Lalmani Tiwari, said Agarwal served the Gita Press for 73 years as he joined it in 1950. Scores of people gathered at Agarwal’s residence to pay their last respect to the departed soul before his mortal remains were taken to Varanasi for last rites.

Earlier this year, the Centre had conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021 on Gita Press, Gorakhpur. The jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after due deliberations on June 18, 2023, unanimously decided to select Gita Press, Gorakhpur as the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021, in recognition of its outstanding contribution towards social, and economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods.

Instituted by the Government of India in 1995, the Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. The award is open to all persons, regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. The award carries an amount of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.

Established in 1923, Gita Press is one of the world’s largest publishers, having published 41.7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.