From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Aug 24: In a bid to pander to the popular sentiments of the people of Karnataka, especially women and other deprived sections of society, the State Government is planning to name some of the other universities in the State after the prominent saints, sages and social reformers.
It may be recalled that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government took the historic decision of establishing an exclusive university for women in Vijayapura in the predominantly Lingayat Northern Karnataka region after the Lingayat icon Akkamahadevi, one of the early women poets of Kannada who defied the gender restrictions and was hailed as the most progressive and revolutionary person.
The Siddaramaiah regime is now seriously considering to rename the Gulbarga University after Basaveshwara, 12th century social reformer and founder of Lingayat faith,
While the Central University of Kalaburagi is to be named after Dr B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution who fought for the upliftment of Dalits.
The central university of Bengaluru, which was one of three universities formed after division of Bengaluru University, would be named after Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru and is one of the earliest stalwarts of the Vokkaligas predominant in the Old Mysuru or Southern parts of Karnataka.
Incidentally, the Siddaramaiah Government has already named international airport of Bengaluru after Kempe Gowda.
There are demands for naming some of the universities in the State after Basaveshwara, Valmiki, Kanakadasa, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Kempe Gowda and poet savant Santha Shishunala Sharif, Karnataka’s Higher Education Minister Basavaraja Rayareddy said in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The Congress Government’s move to accede to the demands of naming many of the universities after the prominent religious leaders, sages and social reformers, who also are closely associated with the Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Dalits and other Backward Classes is seen as an attempt to pander to the popular sentiments ahead of the next year’s crucial assembly elections.
The Minister said the State government has written to the Centre to rename the Central University of Kalaburagi after B R Ambedkar.
However, there was no reply from the Human Resource Ministry of the centre so far, he said.
Already, the State Government has named a newly established economic school in Bengaluru after Dr B R Ambedkar.
Rayareddy said Karnataka students must be given due representatkon and reservation in the Indian Institute of Technology, Dharwad and National Law School of India University, Bengaluru as the State Government has provided lands and other infrastructure facilities.
The Minister said he had written to the centre on the matter but the latter had not responded to it so far. It is lamentable that only six students from Karnataka had received seats in the IIT, Dharwad this year though the State Government’s decision to allot 470 acres of land was worth over Rs 1000 crore.
Asked about 390 vacant posts of principals in the government first grade degree colleges, he said vacancies would be filled either through a special drive or through promotions.
Vacant posts of 1500 lecturers in aided colleges would also be filled this year and the Finance Department has cleared the department’s proposal, he said.
A committee headed by former Chief Secretary S V Ranganath has been constituted to develop infrastructure in government degree colleges.
Nearly 80 colleges have been functioning from rented buildings. It was proposed to raise Rs 5000 crore either from the World Bank or NABARD for developing infrastructure in colleges, the Minister said.