The anniversary of Parshuram, who is regarded as the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was earlier declared as an optional holiday in the government calender.
Accepting demands of Brahmin organisations in Rajasthan, the Raje government has declared a public holiday on Parshuram Jayanti on April 18.
The anniversary of Parshuram, who is regarded as the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was earlier declared as an optional holiday in the government calender.
For a long time, Brahmin outfits had been demanding the state government to declare the anniversary a public holiday and several memorandums were communicated to the government which fell on deaf ears until now.
In its final year, the Raje government took notice of the memorandums piled up and met their demand, which is being seen as a move to appease the Brahmin community, given the elections are just six months away.
"We had been demanding a public holiday on Parshuram Jayanti for a long time. I want to thank Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for accepting our demand, finally. This is the best gift to the Brahmins from her," said Pundit Vinay Sharma, National President of Rashtriya Brahmin Mahasangh (Bharat).
Gaur Brahmin Mahasabha, which struggled continuously on the demand for the holiday, celebrated the government's decision while burning crackers in Jaipur. "The public holiday will benefit not only Brahmins, but the entire Hindu community. The reason being most marriages are held on Akshaya Tritiya, which coincides with Parshuram Jayanti," said Pankaj Pachlagiya, state president of the Mahasabha.
The sources in the government informed that the decision to declare Parshuram Jayanti a public holiday was an administrative step and no one was pressured to do so.
"Modifying the list of public holidays, the GAD department declared a public holiday on Parshuram Jayanti, instead of an optional leave declared earlier," said Gaurav Bajad, Deputy Secretary with the GAD (General Administration Department).
In the calender year of 2018, there were 22 optional leaves including Parshuram Jayanti and as per rules, each government is entitled to avail any two of these. With this, there are now 28 public holidays in Rajasthan.
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