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When eminent scholars walked the corridors of 102-year-old dept

Last Updated 22 March 2018, 17:29 IST

The Philosophy department of the 102-year old University of Mysore is celebrating its centenary year.

"The department of studies in Philosophy is as old as the university itself. It was established under the stewardship of A R Wadia, who had his higher education in Oxford and Cambridge universities. He came from Mumbai to start and to preside over the fortunes of the department in 1916," said department chairman S Venkatesh.

"Mysore Hiriyannna, widely known for his scholarship in Sanskrit, taught Indian Philosophy in the Philosophy department. In 1918, S Radhakrishnan, who later became the President of India, joined the staff of the department. By his magnetic personality and unbound love, he attracted thousands of students from both Science and Arts faculties. It was here, that he wrote his book 'Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore'. Within a short span of his three-year stay in the university, he took the de partment to national and international fame," he said.

"Learned teachers like K R Srinivasa Iyengar, M A Venkata Rao, G Hanumatha Rao, Padamarajaiah, T A Purushotam, M Yamunacharya, H N Raghavendrachar, H K Raja Rao, C V Srinivas Murthy, Muddalinganna, N A Nikam, Mendonsa, S S Raghavachar, Ramakrishna Rao, H T Shantha, A L Sivarudrappa, and Srinivasan contributed a lot to the richness of thought.

The department, thus, has a glorious tradition. It attracted talented writers like K V Puttappa (Kuvempu), A N Murthy Rao, V Sitaramaiah, S L Bhyrappa and others. Murthy Rao, Sitaramaiah, Yamunacharya, H Krishna Rao, and M V Krishna Rao were the distinguished students of Radhakrishnan," Venkatesh said.

"While Yamunacharya, after his retirement, associated himself with the Gandhi Peace Foundation in New Delhi and brought a good lot of translations of Gandhian literature into Kannada, Sitaramaiah became a celebrated poet, economist and literary critic of a high order.

H Krishna Rao and M V Krishna Rao earned a name as excellent professors of Political Philosophy. It is our pride that centenarian (1900-2003) Murthy Rao was a moving Encyclopaedia. Brajendranath Seal, a great Indologist and philosopher, was the vice chancellor from 1921 to 1930. Later Nikam went on to become VC," he said.

"To start with, the department offered Philosophy BA (Honours) and later introduced MA course. It has produced many distinguished personalities, who have served the nation as eminent administrators, great educationists and devoted teachers," he added.

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(Published 22 March 2018, 16:48 IST)

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