Other States - Madhya Pradesh   

Shivraj Singh starts a debate on calendar

Staff Correspondent

"The Gregorian calendar has a communal background"

Shivraj Singh Chauhan

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has started a new debate with his latest campaign in favour of the Indian calendar called Vikram Samvat (Vikram Era) and his observation that the Gregorian calendar has a "communal background".

Mr. Chauhan has pitted the Indian calendar Vikram Samvat, which began in 57 B.C. and is associated with the legendary king Vikramaditya, and the Gregorian calendar that was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in the sixteenth Century.

He compared the two calendars while speaking at the specially organised Vikramotsava at Ujjain and the Nav Samvatsar (new year) celeberation at Bharat Bhawan, the multi-arts complex in the State capital earlier this week.

Speaking at both these functions, Mr. Chauhan said that Vikram Samvat symbolises Vikramaditya's victory over foreign invaders, whereas the Gregorian calendar, which was started by a Christian religious leader 500 years ago, reflected a communal background. It was due to this reason that even Britain did not accept the Gregorian calendar till 1752.

Mr. Chauhan also took a dig at his critics saying that they had started propagating that he was pursuing the Hindu agenda after he had declared a public holiday on Gudi Padva or Varsha Pratipada, which was the Hindu Spring New Year and Chaiti Chand last year.

He said, "While trying to ape the West, the critics do not realise that the Indian calendar or the Vikram Samvat heralds the arrival of spring and marks the beginning of new vigour."

Speaking at the function, State Minister for Culture Lakshmikant Sharma added that Indian Samvatsar starts when nature goes through the process of renewal with plants getting new flowers, leaves and shoots. He said that the Indian calendar is directly linked with our culture.

State Culture Secretary Manoj Shrivastava said that countries like Thailand, Japan, Iran, Afghanistan and many other Islamic countries went through the process of a calendar revolution to reassert and re-establish their own calendars to oppose the influence of colonialism.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Police inaction blamed for Sabharwal murder
Shivraj Singh starts a debate on calendar

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu