Anybody can purchase doctoral degree for thousand bucks: Regrets Prof S.G. Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, October 14: Kannada Development Authority chairman Prof S.G. Siddaramaiah said that anybody could get doctorate degree for a thousand rupees from a foreign university.
Speaking at the Ninth Kannada Sahitya Samskritika Samavesha organised by the Buddha Basava Gandhi Cultural Trust at Kannada Sahitya Parishad here on Sunday, he said that instead of getting a doctoral degree through payment, it was better to get it by working on a literary work. Those who involve in literary activities as multi-lingual personality would promote Kannada. Such writers would contribute for the exchange of literature and culture as they have knowledge of literature of other languages and writer Varada Srinivas was one among such writers, he said.
The competitive exams should be conducted in regional languages. As the Central government was conducting various competitive exams only in Hindi and English, the pluralism of regional languages does not have place in the federal system and it was anti-Constitutional. Poetess Varada Srinivas has raised voice against atrocity on women, dominance of male-dominated society and female equality in her poems, he opined.
Both are equal
Convention president and writer Varada Srinivas welcomed the Supreme Court decision of abolishing the IPC Section 486 which allowed man to have ownership over woman and removing the restriction on women to enter Sabarimala temple. The Supreme Court had upheld the Constitutional morality, according to which, husband was no longer a boss or owner and woman was no longer a slave. Both man and woman were equal in all aspects including sex and they were basic values. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court verdict, in a way, has given licence to husband to have illicit affair. Normally, the chances of wife having illicit affair were less. Many people opined that this verdict was like a licence given to have adultery. The verdict would create enmity between men and women individually. This would create an embarrassing situation in a society which has traditional mindset, she said.
Rapes, sexual harassment, use of contraceptive pills, removing uterus and other issues have already pushed women to ditch. Why should she be punished for the mistakes of others? She was not happy with the verdict given by the Supreme Court. No woman would think of having illicit affair if her husband had such relationship. It would be a rare case as some modern women could think of having such relationship, she said.
Sahitya Koota President Nanjappa Kalegowda, Buddha Basava Gandhi Cultural Trust President S. Ramalingeswara, K.V. Nagaraja Murthy of District Sharana Sahitya Parishat and others were present.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
