The demand for the withdrawal of Jnanpith awardee U R Ananthamurthy’s book ‘Samskara’ from the Hindi syllabus of Mangalore University was declined by the Mangalore University Hindi Board of Studies here on Monday.
Office bearers of the Mangalore University Hindi Teachers’ Association had urged Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof K M Kaveriappa to drop the Hindi version of ‘Samskara’ (1966) from the curriculum, as it ‘encourages students to read obscene literature’.
Samskara was a prescribed textbook for the second year BSc students of Mangalore University jurisdiction. In this context, the VC had urged the Board of Studies to drop the syllabus, or at least, delete some chapters of the book, which were considered ‘obscene.’
The meeting, held under the chairmanship of Hindi Board of Studies Chairman Dr H M Kumaraswamy, has decided not to withdraw the book or delete any chapter from the novel. The meet saw heated discussion on the subject.
The Board has submitted a report to the Vice-Chancellor to continue with the syllabus. Hindi Board of Studies members Dr Bhaskar Mayya, Dr Madhavi Bhandary, Dinesh Pai, S R Madival and Dr Shanthalakshmi were present.
