The Hindu : Karnataka News : `Expose people to richness of Kannada literature'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Expose people to richness of Kannada literature'

By Our Staff Reporter

The Union Minister of State for Planning, M.V. Rajashekharan, inaugurating the seminar on the `Role of Muslims in Karnataka's cultural and social development,' organised by the Akhila Karnataka Mohammadiyara Kannada Vedike by beating the drum, in Ba ngalore on Sunday. The former Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, Baragur Ramachandrappa (centre), and Samiullah Khan, president of the vedike, are seen. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE, SEPT. 12. The Union Minister of State for Planning, M. V. Rajashekaran, said on Sunday that Muslims had contributed significantly to the development of the country.

He was speaking at a seminar on the `Role of Muslims in Karnataka's cultural and social development,' organised by the Akhila Karnataka Mohammadiyara Kannada Vedike at the Kannada Bhavan here.

The MLA and former Minister, R. Roshan Baig, said it was important for non-Kannada speaking people and other minorities in the State to develop an appreciation for Kannada literature.

Kannada classes

He urged people speaking other languages in the State to learn Kannada. "Free Kannada classes should be conducted in areas where such people live in large numbers so that they can learn the language," he said.

Along with these classes, they should also be introduced to works of noted Kannada poets such as Da. Ra. Bendre and Kuvempu, he said.

"I have been pressing the Government to appoint Kannada teachers in Urdu schools to teach the language. But unfortunately, not many of them have been appointed," he said. No new layouts or roads had been named after prominent Muslim leaders "even though they have contributed significantly to the development of the State," he said.

Baragur Ramachandrappa, writer and former chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, said that prominent people from all religions had contributed to making Karnataka what it was today. "The prominent among them were Ferdinand Kittel, a Christian, and Shishunala Sharief, a Sufi saint."

Role models

"People such as Bal Thackeray, Osama bin Laden, Godse, and George Bush will never be role models for right-minded people." Instead, people such as Kuvempu, Basavanna, Shivaram Karanth and Bendre would be the role models for Kannadigas, he said. "A person's birth must not play a prominent role in his growth. People of all religions must learn to go beyond parochial ideas," he said. Others who participated in the function included K. V. Srinivas, Professor of Kannada, Bangalore University, and Parshwanath, office-bearer of the Kannada Sangharsha Samiti.

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