BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday announced that the life and work of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati will be included in school and college curricula, and asserted that his government will ensure that those responsible for his murder are brought to justice.
Addressing a function organised for the release of a book titled ‘Vedanta Kesari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati: Kriti O Byaktitva’ at the Railway Auditorium here, Majhi said the seer’s life of sacrifice, service to tribal communities and commitment to nation-building will serve as an inspiration for future generations.
Recalling the 2008 Janmashtami night assassination of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader at his Jalespeta Ashram in Kandhamal district, Majhi said the disappearance of the Justice AS Naidu Commission report and related files from Lok Seva Bhawan was not a case of ordinary negligence but a well-planned conspiracy. He said the Crime Branch had been entrusted with investigating the missing files and assured that the real culprits behind the murder will not be spared.
Majhi said the biography of Swami Laxmanananda will find a place in school and college libraries and the state government will also incorporate his life and contributions in educational textbooks. He said seminars and workshops will be organised across villages in Odisha and universities in different parts of the country during the seer’s birth centenary year, beginning August 21, to popularise his ideals.
Highlighting the measures taken by his government to preserve Laxmanananda’s legacy, Majhi said the Government Medical College and Hospital at Phulbani had been renamed after the VHP leader and `13 crore sanctioned for preserving the Jalespeta Ashram, constructing a 300-seat girls’ hostel and improving water supply and other infrastructure at the site.
He also expressed confidence that this book, authored by Bipin Bihari Nanda and Banchhanidhi Panda in both Odia and Hindi, will inspire the youth towards patriotism, sacrifice and spirituality.
Speaking at the function, RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale described Laxmanananda as ‘not merely an individual but a force’, saying he dedicated his life to protecting dharma, serving society and inspiring people through spiritual values.
Paying tribute to Laxmanananda Saraswati, Sambalpur MP and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan desribed him as a great freedom fighter, revolutionary and leading figure of the Gadajat movement.
“Swamiji continuously worked for spreading women’s education and making people from all sections of society self-reliant,” Pradhan said and added that his ideals and inspiration will serve as a guiding force for Odisha’s prosperity and building a Viksit Bharat.
Spiritual leader Swami Paramahansa Prajnananda, Swami Jiban Muktananda, chairman of the Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Memorial Trust and Mansukhlal Sethia were among those present at the event.
