Former PM Deve Gowda pays tribute to Basaveshwara in London
London, Oct 27: Former prime minister H.D Deve Gowda paid tribute to Basaveshwara at an event here, saying the 12th century Kannada social reformer fought for eradication of caste discrimination which still prevails in India.
The event on Friday was organised by the Basaveshwara Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the UK that has erected a statue of Basaveshwara on the bank of river the Thames.
Former mayor of the London borough of Lambeth and Chairman of the foundation Neeraj Patil welcomed the former prime minister along with MP Kupendra Reddy on behalf of the Indian-origin and Kannada communities.
Members of the two important Kannada diaspora organisations - Kannadigaru UK & Sandalwood UK, joined Gowda on the occasion.
"Basaveshwara fought for eradication of caste discrimination and social justice in Indian society and unfortunately India still remains divided along caste and religious lines and this must end, there is no place for discrimination in the modern world," said the former premier.
Gowda paid tribute to Basaveshwara for his contribution towards democracy and social justice in India.
He said "I am extremely delighted to see the statue of an Indian philosopher in the backdrop of the British parliament overlooking the river Thames. This makes every Indian and Kannadiga proud".
The project was approved by the planning department of the London borough of Lambeth and subsequently by the British Cabinet minister for culture media and sports as per the Public Statues Act, 1854. The Basaveshwara statue and its vicinity is the intellectual property of the Basaveshwara Foundation.
The Basaveshwara statue erected at the Albert Embankment is not only the first statue to be unveiled by an Indian prime minister in the UK, but is also the first conceptual statue approved by the British Cabinet in the vicinity of Parliament.
It is located at Albert Embankment in London opposite the British Parliament.
The approval was given as a mark of respect to Basaveshwara for promoting democratic ideals, social justice and gender equality during the 12th century.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the statue in 2015.
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.
Fake notes with 'movie shooting purpose only' written on them send police into tizzy in Sirsi
Sirsi (Karnataka), Apr 8 (PTI): The police in Uttar Kannada went into a tizzy on Tuesday after they found fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination from a house in Dandeli with 'movie shooting purpose only' written on them.
Based on a tip-off, police searched a rented house at Gandhinagar in Dandeli and confiscated the fake currency notes along with a money counting machine.
Arshad Khan, who is said to be from Goa, was staying as a tenant in the house belonging to Noorjan Jhunjuwadkar, police said.
Police were informed after Jhunjuwadkar noticed that Khan was absent from the house for the past one month.
The fake currency notes had the inscription 'Reverse Bank of India' on them, but did not have the signature of the RBI governor, police said.
The notes were printed on a shining paper with only zeros written in the place of the number, and 'movie shooting purpose only' inscribed on them, police said.
A hunt is on to trace Khan to question him about the seizure, they added.
