Pune: The Maharashtra government’s decision to introduce a short-term course “Vedic Sanskar Junior Assistant” in industrial training institutes (ITI) has triggered a controversy, with sections of the priest community and Opposition leaders criticising the move.
Skill, employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha announced on Monday that the course aims to train youth for service and management roles at pilgrimage sites, particularly during large religious gatherings such as the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Nashik in 2026–27.
According to Lodha, the course, approved under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), will equip participants with practical skills to assist devotees through guidance, hospitality, hygiene awareness, and crowd coordination. “The initiative will not only generate trained manpower for pilgrimage centres, but also instill values of discipline and service among the youth,” he said.
The government believes the programme will play a key role during the next Kumbh Mela, when millions of devotees are expected to visit Nashik. The course will be launched initially in Nashik district, with plans to expand it to other regions later.
However, the decision has not gone down well with sections of the religious community and political opposition.
{{/usCountry}}However, the decision has not gone down well with sections of the religious community and political opposition.
{{/usCountry}}Members of the Trimbakeshwar Temple Trust and the local priest organisation have voiced their disappointment, alleging that the government launched the course without consulting traditional religious bodies.
Kailas Ghule, a trustee of the Trimbakeshwar Temple, said, “We have age-old traditions that define the role and conduct of tirth purohits (pilgrimage priests). The government is trying to commercialise something deeply spiritual. Turning this into a professional training programme under ITIs is totally unacceptable. We are completely opposed to this course on ‘Vedic Sanskar’.”
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat called it an example of the government’s “misplaced priorities”.
“There are many important issues the government should be focusing on — farmers’ problems, unemployment, and rising prices. Instead, they are promoting religious courses like ‘Vedic Sanskar’ under the education system, which is very unfortunate,” Thorat said.
Officials from the skill development department, however, defended the decision, clarifying that the course is a skill-oriented vocational programme and not a religious study. They said similar initiatives in other states have combined traditional values with modern service management.
As the debate continues, the initiative has sparked a wider discussion on the balance between cultural preservation and vocational education — and whether religious themes have a place within the government’s formal skill development framework.