Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday claimed he has not been awarded the Nobel Prize because of the colour of his skin.
Ramdev made the remark in the presence of Jharkhand chief minister Raghuvar Das on the concluding day of his five-day yoga camp in Ranchi.
“Yoga is increasingly used worldwide in curing diseases. I would have got the Nobel for promoting it across the globe but for the colour of my skin,” he said, amid loud cheers from his followers.
He also added that Indian lobbying for the prize had been weak and that was why Indians do not receive the award.
The yoga guru perhaps forgot that an Indian, Kailash Satyarthi of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, had bagged the coveted Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 along with Mala Yousafzai, a teenager from Pakistan.
The chief minister, giving a patient hearing to the yoga exponent till then, also shook his head in affirmation. However, considering the sensitivity of the issue Ramdev had raised, he changed the topic and sought Baba’s help in purchasing different herbs and shrubs produced in Jharkhand and resolved to set up a processing plant for this soon in the state.
Das said the State has set the target of organic farming in 16-17 thousand acres in the State by March 2016.
{{/usCountry}}Das said the State has set the target of organic farming in 16-17 thousand acres in the State by March 2016.
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister also laid foundation stones for setting up ‘Acharyakulam’, a Patanjali Yog Pith School on 10 acres land in the city for which site would be identified later. The school would cost around Rs 25 crore to set up.
Baba Ramdev too announced a food processing plant in the state and involving the Patanjali group in organic and medicinal plants farming here.