JOIN USAn autonomous university of global standards for study and research in Pali and Sanskrit will come up in the city soon, adding to its reputation as an education hub.
The university will be set up by the Pali Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy Trust of Gulbarga under the patronage of Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge. The Trust is headed by his eldest son Rahul Kharge.
The State government has sanctioned 16 acres of land at Kusnur village in Gulbarga taluk, adjoining the imposing Buddha Vihara constructed by the Siddartha Vihara Trust headed by Mallikarjun Kharge.
This land was originally allotted to Gulbarga University in 1993 for the construction of the Astrophysics Complex when Dr N Rudraiah was the vice chancellor. However, even after 20 years, the university has failed to utilise the land.
Subsequently, the deputy commissioner of Gulbarga sent a proposal to the government for allotting the land to the Trust. The government has agreed to it and the land has been leased out to the Trust for 30 years.
Gulbarga University Vice Chancellor E T Puttaiah said that after he assumed office, he had planned to set up the department of environmental sciences on the land.
However, the State government, without the knowledge of the university, has allotted the land to the Trust.
“We have written a letter to the government to reconsider the decision to allot the land to the Trust. But there is no response,” Puttaiah said.
The State government has already sanctioned Rs 10 crore to the Trust for setting up the institution, while the Centre has sanctioned Rs 10 crore for academic activities.
Rs 10 crore announced
The then Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, about three years ago, had announced Rs 10 crore in his budget for the Pali Language Institute.
The university aims to carry out extensive study and research in Pali and Sanskrit language and comparative philosophies in the context of Buddhist philosophy.
The Trust wants to have an affiliation for the university with the Sanskrit department of Delhi University. A team of the department has already visited Gulbarga. According to sources, the possession of the land will be taken by the Trust shortly after paying the lease amount of Rs 24.75 lakh. The land has been sanctioned to the Trust at 10 per cent of the prevailing market rate.