Govt rectifies error after its e-magazine mentions Swami Vivekananda and Raman Maharshi as contemporaries of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India’s verified Twitter handle on Tuesday evening rectified the error in the English version of latest issue of New India Samachar which Swami Vivekananda and Raman Maharshi as contemporaries of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

The latest issue of the government’s fortnightly e-Magazine New India Samachar marked the ‘Amrut Mahotsav’, which celebrates India in its 75th year of Independence.

However, the text that grabbed eyeballs and provoked to questioning facts read, "The Bhakti movement heralded the freedom struggle in India. During the Bhakti Yuga, the saints and mahants of this country, from every part of the country whether it is Swami Vivekananda, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramana Maharishi, were concerned about its spiritual consciousness. It served as the precursor to the revolt of 1857."

The highlighted paragraph mentioned of contributions of Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharshi to be a precursor to the revolt of 1857, though the two spiritual personalities were only to born after the 1857 revolt - leading alert netizens to raise questions on the compromised truth.

As per books and records, Swami Vivekananda was born in 1863 whereas Ramana Maharishi was born in 1879, six and 22 years after revolt respectively.

Taking a note of it, hours after the the issue was released, the PIB on Twitter then announced that the error is regretted and has been corrected. The Hindi version had mentioned the facts correctly.

In a tweet it wrote, "The English version of latest issue of #NewIndiaSamachar inadvertently mentioned Swami Vivekananda and Raman Maharshi as contemporaries of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The error is regretted and has been corrected. The Hindi version had mentioned the facts correctly."

The text has now been removed from the issue and explains how inspiration from AtmaNirbhar Bharat is derived from the personalities associated with the bhakti movement.

For the unversed, New India Samachar is a well-designed and informative magazine which is especially a must read copy for history enthusiasts. Also, it is important of the social, economic, and political conditions of the past.

The latest issue's cover page holds dazzling image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi marking the AmritMahotsav celebrations. The pages inside have glimpses of the great participation of the common man in freedom movement which probably many have been forgotten. With the purpose to shift the spotlight on these anonymous freedom fighters, this copy came into being.