Acharya Dev Vrat, who was sworn in as the 27th Governor of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, chose to take the oath in Sanskrit, sending a strong message about his “gurukul” background and becoming the first Governor of the state to take oath in a language other than Hindi and English.
Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir administered the oath. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Assembly Speaker Brij Bihari Lal Butail, Cabinet ministers, Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal and BJP state president Satpal Satti, apart from MLAs, attended the ceremony at Darbar Hall, Raj Bhawan. Haryana ministers Anil Vij and Karan Kamboj were also present.
[related-post]
Talking to mediapersons after the ceremony, Vrat stressed the need to set high standards in education in the state. “It doesn’t matter how many universities and educational institutes are set up in the state… Quality education is more important,” he said.
“Students should be imparted value-based modern education and taught science and technology,” said Vrat, who himself has an academic background and is also a yoga exponent.
He also urged farmers to adopt the latest farm technology because land holdings were getting divided. “There is a need to shift to high value cash crops, fruits and floriculture,” said Vrat.
