'Create conducive environment for research'

Wellknown litterateur Baragooru Ramachandrappa said that there was a need to create a conducive environment to help pro-society research activities.

Speaking after inaugurating Ambigara Chowdaiah Adhyayana Peeta at Mangalore University here on Wednesday, he said on an average 130 MoUs have been signed with the foreign universities by the Indian Universities. On the whole, 60 per cent of the MoUs are related to management studies, 10 per cent on architechture, 10 per cent on fashion technology and only 5 per cent are related to humanities. If this is the case, many of the experts ask why do we need to study history, social science and political science.  The value of education is moving towards professional education.

What will happen to the general education? he asked. 

“The educationists who should have been framing the policy for the betterment of education have been replaced by the businessmen in the name of education,” he said. The Peeta should not carry out ritualistic programmes. Instead, it should bring out the relavance of the subject by carrying out research activities. The Peeta should work towards the social justice. Prof Ramachandrappa said that when the enrolment ratio to the higher education is only 12 per cent, what will happen to the remaining students in the country.

“Vachana is the byproduct of vachana movement in the 12th century. It was not considered as a piece of literature till recently. But these Vachanas are relevant even to this day,” he said.

Ambigara Chowdaiah was known for his straight forward language. He came face to face with the Vachanakaras and protected internal democratic principles in his writings. He is not the representatives of Ambiga community alone. He speaks of those who were suppressed in the society through his work. The vachanas are relevant even to this day.

Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankaramurthy presided.

On the Ambigara Chowdaiah Adhyayana Peeta,  convenor Dr Jayaraj Ameen  said its main objectives would be to undertake studies and research on the life and work of the vachanakara. The peeta would, among other things, undertake socio-economic, historical, and cultural studies of the fishing community and their profession in coastal Karnataka. In fact, the Peeta was set up with the government after releasing Rs 50 lakh for the purpose to take up research activities.
Registrar Dr Chinnappa Gowda was present. 

Icon in community

Vachana writers like Ambigara Chowdaiah, Madiwala Machaiah and others who fought against caste system in their vachanas have become icons and restricted to their own communities in the recent years. It is a tragedy that great vachana writers have become icons in their community instead of the society.