Government plans to hold programmes on the birth and death anniversary of poet Sant Kabir Das and is mulling the release of a coin in his memory, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. Responding to supplementaries, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said Allahabad-based North Central Zone Cultural Centre will be including the dates of his birth and death in its calendar of important events. He also said a commemorative coin is being planned in his memory and added that the government will give a thought to the suggestion of a BJP member to open a museum on the life and works of the 15th century poet. In his written response, he said there was no proposal to provide funds to the Uttar Pradesh government to organise programmes to commemorate the memory of the acclaimed poet. He said the Centre has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres in the country to protect, preserve and promote various forms of folk art and culture. The ministry does not release funds to state governments and Union Territories, but the funds are released in the form of annual grant-in-aid to the seven centres for organising various cultural activities and programmes. Sant Kabir's writings is said to have influenced the Bhakti movement in India. Kabir's dohas (the two lines poems) were critical to orthodox practices of both Hinduism and Islam. Kabir's legacy is continued through the Kabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognises him as its founder. Its members are known as Kabir panthis.
