GULBARGA: Writer Baragur Ramachandrappa on Monday warned against the emerging economic forces extending their control over culture, education and politics.

Speaking at a function after giving away the annual awards to writers and artists given by Gulbarga University to mark Rajyotsava, Mr. Ramachandrappa said the economic forces were transgressing into the fields of culture, literature and education with an aim at controlling and commercialising them.

He said a similar thing happened when the British invaded the country and their influence in the field of education, culture and economy and its bad impacts are being felt even today. Likening the present scenario with the British rule, he said a similar situation was developing now because of the impact of globalisation.

Instead of alien countries, it is the multinational companies (MNCs) that are ruling the Third World countries, he added.

He said this had affected the country's culture, literature and education.

Foreign universities and educational institutions have entered into memorandums of understanding with Indian universities opening the doors of education for commercialisation.

More than 120 Indian universities have signed such memorandums with foreign universities and educational institutions. But most of the memorandums concerned business management studies, hotel industry and architecture and fashion designing and only a small percentage dealt with human resource development.

Prof. Ramachandrappa lamented that the presence profit-oriented institutions in the field of education and commercialisation of education had affected the demand for basic sciences. This had led to preference for applied sciences. He said professors and lecturers were being treated like employees and students like clients. People have been reduced to commodity, he said.

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