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Gorakhpur on way to becoming city of knowledge, says President Kovind
President Ram Nath Kovind praises role of Gorakhnath Math in the country’s religious and spiritual awakening
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Mahayogi Gorakhnath University in Gorakhpur on Saturday and said that the eastern UP town was on way to becoming a “city of knowledge.”
“This is my second visit to Gorakhpur over the last three years. During my visit here on December 2018, I had expressed the desire to see the Gorakhpur develop as a city of knowledge. I am happy to note that the setting up of Mahayogi Gorakhnath University is a step in that direction,” the President said after inaugurating the university.
Baba Gorakhnath University would be run by the Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad set up in 1932.
“Along with regular courses and imparting various skills sets through employment-specific courses, the university would also run courses for women and farmers,” the President said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath would be the chancellor of the university.
“Gorakhpur is named after the great Guru Gorakhnath as well as this entire region is associated with great names. They include Mahatma Buddha, Teerthanker Mahaveer and Sant Kabir. It is the land of Baba Gorakhnath, Guru Digvijayanath, Mahant Avaidyanath. It has also been associated with Baba Raghav Das, Hanuman Prasad Poddar, Ram Prasad Bismil, litterateur Prem Chand, Raghupati Sahai Firaq Gorakhpuri and Vidya Niwas Mishra,” the President said.
“There is this belief that Mahayogi Baba Gorakhnath was an incarnation of Lord Shiva and his place of worship, the Gorakhnath Math, has for ages, played a role in the country’s religious and spiritual awakening. During freedom movement, this Math also played a role in the country’s political movement. Now, it has become an important centre of great importance not just in India, but abroad too,” he said.
The President also praised the new education policy, saying it laid down the blueprint for overall, holistic development of the students and was tailored to develop patriotic and human and cultural values and equip the students with different skill sets.
“The Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad which set up the Baba Gorakhnath University is running more than 50 academic institutions. I am happy to note that the institutes run by the Parishad focus on overall, holistic development of the individuals. Affinity towards Indian culture, love and willingness to sacrifice and surrender oneself for the motherland is also a key ingredient. I am confident that under the chancellorship of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Anandiben Patel, this Mahayogi Gorakhnath University would fulfill its avowed objective,” he said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath said India’s traditional healthcare system had got global recognition due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21 were a good example as the day was being observed globally.
The chief minister was speaking in Gorakhpur where President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Mahayogi Gorakhnath University and laid the foundation stone of Ayush University.
“PM Narendra Modi had in 2019 laid the foundation stone of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University in Lucknow and all medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh will be affiliated to it. Similarly, all Indian traditional healthcare system institutes in the state will be affiliated to the Ayush university,” he said.
Adityanath also said, “For the people of Gorakhpur as well as for whole of east UP, it’s a unique coincidence that while one university has been inaugurated, the foundation stone of another has been laid. This well and truly means that we are on course to realizing the President’s ambition of seeing Gorakhpur develop as a city of knowledge.”
The chief minister, who is also the head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt, is the chancellor of the Mahayogi Gorakhnath University
He said: “We are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the new education policy, which is set to provide newer opportunities to students. The new university would offer courses in nursing, Ayurveda and various para medical courses. The university has cleared its schedule for the next five years. We are confident that Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad and Gorakhnath University, Gorakhpur would realise all that the country’s top leadership and the Parishad’s illustrious founders and mentors had envisioned for them.”
Governor Anandiben Patel praised chief minister Yogi Adityanath for working on President Ram Nath Kovind’s agenda of transforming Gorakhpur into a “city of knowledge”.
The governor also praised Gorakhpur’s “rich and glorious past and its bright present”. She also lauded the Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad that was founded in 1932 and under which the Mahayogi Gorakhnath University has been set up.
“The chief minister is fulfilling the President’s agenda to develop Gorakhpur as a city of knowledge. Once Ayush University whose foundation stone was laid today is ready, Gorakhpur would actually become an education hub,” the governor said.
She also praised the new education policy saying it would ensure that students don’t run into language issues in their quest for greatness.
“The new education policy would also help focus on skill-based education and training,” she said.
‘I am sure that the university would be successful in fulfilling the vision for which it has been established,” she added.
