Madhya Pradesh: Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi visited the ashram of Hindu spiritual leader Jagadguru Rambhadracharya in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, where he received blessings and an unusual request—to reclaim Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PaK) as ‘guru dakshina’.
During the visit on Wednesday, Rambhadracharya told General Dwivedi that he had been initiated with the same Ram Mantra diksha that, according to mythology, was given to Lord Hanuman before his journey to Lanka to rescue Sita. The two engaged in a spiritual dialogue, and the Army Chief also interacted with saints and students at the ashram.
Rambhadracharya, a Hindu scholar and philosopher, requested that PaK be returned to India as a symbolic offering or dakshina, traditionally given to a guru by a disciple. The request comes in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7 in response to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead.
Operation Sindoor targeted nine militant bases in Pakistan and PaK. Over the next four days, Pakistan responded with cross-border shelling, which was met with Indian retaliation until a ceasefire was reached on May 10. Although the border has remained calm since, Indian authorities have asserted that Operation Sindoor is still ongoing.
