Varanasi: The Bharatiya Janata Party will launch a nationwide social harmony campaign “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan” to mark the 650th Prakash Parv of Sant Shiromani Sadguru Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj. The campaign will be formally inaugurated on July 29, on the occasion of Guru Purnima, from Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi, the birthplace of Sant Ravidas. A series of programmes will continue across the country till Feb 20, 2027, on Magh Purnima and Sant Ravidas Jayanti.The grand launch will be attended by BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and Dera Sachkhand Ballan chief and head of Sant Ravidas Janmasthali, Sant Shri Guru Niranjan Das Maharaj of Jalandhar.Talking to reporters on Monday, BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha National president Lal Singh Arya said the campaign aims to strengthen social harmony among all sections and ensure the participation of every community in building a developed India. He said the path shown by Sant Ravidas Maharaj forms the foundation of the resolve of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas”, and this campaign will emerge as a mass movement for social harmony and national unity.He said a national workshop for the campaign was held in Delhi on July 19, while state-level workshops were organised from July 20 to 23 and district-level workshops from July 25 to 27.The nationwide campaign will be conducted in five major phases. From July 29 to September 10, the “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Kalash Vandan Abhiyan” will be held at the national, state, district and mandal levels. A Sant Sampark Abhiyan will also be conducted from July 29 to August 31.The “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Samrasta Yatra” will be taken out from Jalandhar to Kashi from October 5 to November 5. The yatra will pass through Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In addition, the “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Chhatravas Sampark Abhiyan” will be held from Nov 26 to Jan 15, 2027.Uttar Pradesh social welfare minister Asim Arun said special programmes will be organised in Varanasi on July 28 and 29 for the launch of the campaign. On July 28, sacred soil will be collected and worshipped at the birthplace of Sant Ravidas in Seer Govardhanpur. A grand procession with 131 kalash will be taken out from the Shri Guru Ravidas memorial site in Varanasi to the Janmabhoomi Temple, where the kalash will be ceremonially worshipped. Teams carrying kalash from various states and all districts of Uttar Pradesh will reach Varanasi to participate in the worship of the 131 kalash.He said that, as part of the campaign, a “Guru Ravidas Maharaj Samrasta Deep Abhiyan” will also be organised. Under this initiative, 11,000 lamps will be lit at Shri Ravidas Ghat, while lamps will also be lit at the Shri Ravidas memorial site. On July 29, Deepotsav programmes will be held at Sant Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj temples across the country as well as at all BJP mandal levels.
