Gita Press Gorakhpur trustee Baijnath Agarwal passes away; UP CM condoles demise

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 28 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday condoled the demise of the trustee of Gita Press Gorakhpur, Baijnath Agarwal.

The chief minister said that the demise of Baijnath Agarwal has caused irreparable loss to the society.

Taking to social media platform, X, CM Yogi said, “The demise of Shri Baijnath Aggarwal, Trustee of Geeta Press, Gorakhpur is extremely sad. As a trustee of Geeta Press for the last 40 years, Baijnath ji’s life has been dedicated to social awareness and human welfare. His demise has caused irreparable loss to the society. May Lord Shri Ram grant the departed soul a place at His feet and the bereaved family members and the entire Geeta Press family the strength to bear this immense loss. Om peace!”

The Centre earlier this year, conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021 on Gita Press, Gorakhpur.

Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India in 1995, on the occasion of 125th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.

The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.

The jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after due deliberations on June 18, 2023, unanimously decided to select Gita Press, Gorakhpur as the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021, in recognition of its outstanding contribution towards social, and economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods.

Gita Press, established in 1923, is one of the world’s largest publishers, having published 41.7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore Shrimad Bhagvad Gita.