Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)
 
Mangalore Dec 12: A symposium on 'Early thoughts of Dravidian culture and recent works' was organized here at the SDM College of business management premises on Tuesday December 12, in which the key note address on the same was delivered by noted poet and playwright H S Shivprakash from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
 
Addressing the gathering Shivprakash opined that since time immemorial Dravidian culture has been the neglected, while at the same time Aryan culture was always considered superior. Though Aryan culture and language was considered superior, Sanskrit, an Aryan language saw a set-back as it failed to be the language of the territory, while Dravidian languages and culture grew to be close to the hearts of the people as Dravidian languages found a base and became territorial, he added.
 
Talking about the ‘Brahminical’ influence on Aryan literature, he said that in the story of Punyakoti the Aryan literature portrayed the tiger as an antagonist who witnesses death in the end, while in the Dravidian version of Punyakoti the tiger too survives. In Aryan culture and literature the aspects of inferiority and superiority is widely prevalent, while it is not found in Dravidian culture and literature, which is clear and free from obscurity, he declared.

According to him research on history should be devoid of any ideological influence and should encourage new ideas in the respective research fields. In this context he said that the damage that the ideology of Dravidian supremacy in politics caused to Tamil Nadu, was as serious as the Aryan supremacy thinking caused to Indian society.
 
In his introductory speech  Mangalore University's head of Kannada department K Chinnappa Gowda after releasing ‘Shangam Tamilagam Kannada Nadu Nudi’, authored by historian Prof S Shettar, Mangalore University department of Kannada declared that till date all debates and discussion on Aryan-Dravidian  subject have pictured both as opponents to each other "This tendency had uprooted the entire process of thought. The debate on this issue should be held on cultural grounds (rather) then on ethnic grounds," he advised.
 
Speaking about history, Prof Gowda said that history should not be treated as a subject concerning the history of the state.“History must define the law and history of the land. It must not only look up at the kings, empires and their rule, it must look down at the land, people and their culture too,” he pointed out.

Principal K Devaraj, SDM College of business management  presided over the programme. Also on the occasion were present author S Shettar, critic G Rajashekar and Kavitha Rai.