‘Bigger movement needed to safeguard Kannada culture’

Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana president Dr Doddarange Gowda on Friday said there is a need for a bigger movement than the Gokak movement to reunite Karnataka and safeguard Kannada culture, land, borders and Kananda schools.

He was replying to a question on why there was no big movement after the Gokak agitation in the 1980s at an interaction programme organised as part of the Sammelana.

When asked about the failure of writers to protect Kannada schools in border areas due to groupism, he said that the answer lies in the question itself.

Prof Gowda rued that rot in politics is weakening the roots of democracy. He emphasized the need for a bigger revolution to root out corruption in politics and build a value-based society. “As values have lost value, only those, with money power, are getting access to power. It is a tragedy”, he said.

“It is disheartening that people with money power are getting preference over merit while nominating members to the Legislative Council, which is called the House of elders and thinkers. People, who are not related to any specific field, like arts and literature, are getting nominated to the Council under those categories. The Council chairman and the governors have become helpless. It is nothing but a mockery of democracy”, he said.

Prof Gowda recalled that he had staged a protest in the Council against the government in a legislature session held in Belagavi. “Though I was a nominated MLC from the ruling party (BJP), I had staged a protest against the government as I was deeply hurt by the suicide of sugarcane growers. My friends had said that it was wrong, but it did not matter to me,” he said.

He said women are ahead of men nowadays.

“My wife Rajeshwari is my friend, philosopher and guide,” he said.

Prof Gowda said he had limited scope as a lyricist as he had to write songs based on situations and suggestions from directors and music composers.

“In literature, I have no boundaries,” he said.