Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurates 'Ekatma Manava Darshan' at KSOU in Mysuru

Conference had attracted controversy and the State government had issued an order to cancel it

Mysuru: Karnataka Governor and Chancellor of Universities Thaawarchand Gehlot formally inaugurated the three-day ‘Ekatma Manava Darshan’ Bharat’s Worldview, an international academic conference, on the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) campus here on Wednesday.

The conference is being organised by the Karnataka unit of the Prajna Pravah and Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation.

Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan delivered a speech virtually.

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan is scheduled to deliver a special lecture on Thursday.

It may be noted that the issue of the conference was raised by Congress MLC Ramesh Babu in the Karnataka Legislative Council on Monday and Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar replied that the State government would not allow the KSOU to hold the lecture series, organised to mark 60 years of Deendayal Upadhyaya’s philosophy of ‘Integral Humanism’ (Ekatma Manavvad).

Following this, KSOU Vice-Chancellor Sharanappa V Halase was served a show-cause notice on Monday. He replied to it on Tuesday. Not satisfied with his reply, Deputy Secretary for Universities, Higher Education Department, N Kumar on Tuesday issued an order cancelling the event.

However, a special exhibition, as part of the conference, showcasing India’s heritage and achievements was inaugurated by renowned sculptor Arun Yogiraj, as per schedule on Wednesday morning. Various sessions and paper presentations were also held, as per schedule.

On Thursday, Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Suttur Mutt, Halase, and convener of Prajna Pravah, Karnataka South, Pradeep Bharadwaja, were present at the inaugural ceremony. Prior to the inaugural ceremony, the Governor visited Chamundeshwari Devi temple atop Chamundi Hills.

According to Prajna Pravah members, ‘Ekatma Manava Darshan’ is a philosophy based on Indian vision, spirituality, and sociology that seeks to achieve balance and harmony between the individual, society, and nature. The conference will bring together Vice-Chancellors, registrars, professors, research scholars, and policy experts from across Karnataka and India, along with experts and thinkers in social and political sciences. They said 640 delegates had enrolled and 423 of them participated on the first day. A total of 118 experts are presenting papers.

The valedictory ceremony on March 27 will have Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, as the chief guest.