The minister was speaking here today at the three-day Bhagwan Parshuram Jayanti organised by the Ambala district Brahmin Sangthan.

The Education Minister, while paying rich tributes to Bhagwan Parshuram, said that Parshuram fought against the rulers doing injustice to the downtrodden. He recalled that all `Jayantis' were celebrated in a collective spirit before Independence, but afterwards, people belonging to different sects had started celebrating birthdays of great men separately, which had created a sense of separatism in the country.

Sharma disclosed that a proposal to honour the teachers from schools and colleges for their outstanding achievements was under active consideration of the Education Department. He announced a grant of Rs 21,000 to the Sangthan. Sangthan president Ved Prakash Sharma said that their organisation had distributed 12-sewing machines to the needy women and awarded scholarships to students who topped in Sanskrit subjects at the school and college level in the district.