Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said his government would set up a ‘Brahmin Kalyan Board’ or Brahmin welfare board, and include lessons on Parshuram, the Hindu mythological figure believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, in the State’s school syllabus till Class 8.
He was addressing a Parshuram Jayanti event in Bhopal. On the occasion, Mr. Chouhan also announced scholarships for students studying Sanskrit and other aspects related to Hinduism and that, if needed, Sanskrit teachers would be appointed in the State.
Mr. Chouhan also said that a ‘Shri Parshuram Lok’ would be built at Janapav near Indore, considered the birthplace of the deity seen as a Brahmin icon.
Brahmins constitute nearly 2-3% of the electorate in Madhya Pradesh, which goes to the polls later this year. They are influential in certain pockets in the Vindhya and Gwalior-Chambal regions.
A source in the BJP said that Brahmins also become opinion makers for other segment of voters, especially among the upper castes.
The Madhya Pradesh Government’s thrust towards wooing other communities such as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) over the past few years, and a pull from the Congress to appeal to all sections of society, also necessitated the move of setting up a welfare board, the source added.
The Opposition Congress had recently held a ‘Dharm Samvad’ or religious dialogue programme organised by the its temple priest cell, where welfare measures for temple priests, who are almost exclusively Brahmin, were discussed.
