President Murmu leads nation in paying tributes to Guru Ravidas

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday extended her greetings to the nation on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti, urging people to embrace his teachings of equality and social justice.

Guru Ravidas, a revered saint of the Bhakti movement in the 15th and 16th centuries, is known for his powerful message of unity, devotion, and service to humanity.

In a post X, President Murmu wrote, “On the auspicious occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti, I extend my best wishes to all the countrymen. Saint Ravidas made service to humanity his goal. He remained dedicated to eradicating discrimination on the basis of religion and caste and bringing unity in society.”

“Let us adopt the teachings of Guru Ravidas ji and continue to contribute towards building a prosperous and developed nation,” she added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also paid homage, posting on X, “Tribute to the great social reformer and poet, Sant Shiromani Ravidas ji on his birth anniversary. Pujya Ravidas Ji gave the message of social unity and brotherhood through his poems and hymns in the Bhakti movement. His teachings, dedicated to the upliftment of the oppressed and deprived classes, are exemplary for all.”

BJP National President J.P. Nadda also took to social media and posted, “I pay my heartfelt tributes to Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas Ji on his birth anniversary, who considered karma as supreme and showed the path of equality in society for the upliftment of all. His teachings, giving the message of social harmony, are still exemplary for unity, goodwill, and character building.”

In observance of the occasion, several states have declared a public holiday. Punjab, Haryana, and Uttarakhand have announced state-wide holidays, while the Delhi government has also declared a public holiday for government and public-sector employees.

In Punjab and Haryana, government offices and schools in cities such as Chandigarh, Mohali, Gurugram, and Faridabad will remain closed.

In Uttarakhand, a holiday was declared on Wednesday for all state government institutions except the secretariat and treasury. The state will also organise cleanliness drives and decorate statues of Guru Ravidas in his honour.

A notification issued by the Delhi government confirmed a holiday for all government offices, autonomous bodies, and public sector undertakings, allowing residents of the capital to celebrate the birth anniversary of the revered saint.