The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday wrapped up a key meeting in Ayodhya, announcing several changes to its organisational structure, including the appointment of Govind Dev Giri as the Trust’s General Secretary. Giri succeeded Champat Rai, who had stepped down taking moral responsibility in connection with the alleged Ram Temple donation theft case.
In a statement, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) international president Alok Kumar congratulated Giri on his appointment as general secretary, saying that his leadership would provide guidance to everyone, as per PTI.
Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, earlier known as Acharya Kishoreji Madangopal Vyas, was born on January 25, 1949, in Belapur village of Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district, according to Bhishma School of Indian Knowledge System.
His followers popularly refer to him as “Swamiji”.
Coming from a family with a long tradition of spiritual learning and religious practice, Giri was introduced to India’s ancient spiritual traditions from an early age. He completed his primary schooling in his native village before joining Tatvagyan Vidyapeeth, an institution founded by Pandurang Shastri Aathavale, who pioneered the socio-religious movement known as “Swadhyay”.
Giri later earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy under Aathavale’s guidance. He subsequently spent years delivering religious discourses and became a prominent spiritual figure.
His association with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust began in 2020. As a trustee, he was entrusted with overseeing the collection and management of funds for the construction of the Ram Temple.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust appointed retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra as its first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as part of a major organisational restructuring following allegations of donation theft.
Mishra, who led the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command during Operation Sindoor, was chosen from a final shortlist of three candidates after the Trust’s selection committee evaluated 5,585 applications for the newly created post.
The Trust also appointed Mahesh Bhagchandka as treasurer and expanded its governing body by inducting three new trustees — Madan Mohan Pandey from Ayodhya, Bhagchandka from Delhi and Dr Nirmala Yadav from Shikohabad.
After his appointment, Mishra thanked the selection committee and the Trust for entrusting him with the responsibility. He expressed confidence that he would be able to fulfil the duties associated with the post.
Mishra, who is from Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district, served in the Indian Air Force for several decades and held senior command positions. His service record includes multiple military honours, including the Yudh Seva Medal.
Giri also welcomed Yadav’s induction into the Trust, saying her appointment would strengthen women’s representation in the management of the temple.
Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers.
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With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations.
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Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’.
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He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune.
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He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP.
<br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X
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