Siddaramaiah announces five acres of land for Shivagiri Mutt branch in coastal Karnataka
Mangaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced that the State Government is ready to provide five acres of land to establish a branch of Kerala’s Shivagiri Mutt in either Udupi or Mangaluru.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 100th year celebrations of the Mahasamadhi of Shri Narayana Guru, organised jointly by Shivagiri Mutt, Varkala and the Brahmashree Narayana Guru Study Chair of Mangalore University at the Mangalagangothri Campus in Konaje, the Chief Minister said that leaders including B.K. Hariprasad have been directed to identify suitable land.
Sharing the keynote message on the historic dialogue between Narayana Guru and Mahatma Gandhi, Lok Sabha Public Accounts Committee Chairman K.C. Venugopal said that the ideologies of Basavanna, Mahatma Gandhi, and Narayana Guru are embedded in the Indian Constitution. He expressed concern that the very Constitution built upon their principles is now under threat, much like the threats these reformers faced in their times. He urged society to uphold their teachings to advance social justice.
He also recalled the 1925 meeting between Gandhi and Narayana Guru, describing it as a landmark event during a time when the struggle for independence and the fight against untouchability were both at their peak. The dialogue laid the foundation for the long Vaikom Satyagraha, he noted.
Presiding over the event, Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader said that the grounds hosting this historic event will be named “Guru-Gandhi Maidan,” and funds would be sanctioned for the development of a park and playground there. He emphasised that true development is not limited to infrastructure but lies in fostering harmony and unity among people of all communities.
Highlighting the background of the Study Chair, senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad stated that the proposal for the Narayana Guru Study Chair began in 2013 with contributions of ₹35 lakh from his MLC funds. Further support of ₹10 lakh each from MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and MLC Harish Kumar was also provided. Recently, an additional ₹2 crore grant was sanctioned by the Chief Minister. Hariprasad requested further support for establishing the Shivagiri Mutt branch, following which Siddaramaiah assured the allocation of five acres of land.
Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara, District In-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Women and Child Welfare Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar, PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, Housing and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, former Union Minister Janardhan Poojary, several MLAs, MLCs, and local leaders were present.
Earlier, Shivagiri Mutt Secretary Shubha Ganananda Swamiji submitted an official request to the Chief Minister through K.C. Venugopal, seeking land allocation and government support for the Mutt’s Karnataka unit.
Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Subrahmanya Yadapadithaya welcomed the dignitaries and participants.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
_vb_69.jpeg)