SHIVAMOGGA: The Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (KDSS) has warned that it will launch a Tamate Chalavali (protest drum movement) if Kuvempu University goes ahead with a seminar titled “Bhagavad Gita and Crime Control” on Tuesday.
The programme is being organised at the university’s Basava Mantapa in collaboration with Swarna Rashmi Trust, the Bhagavad Gita Abhiyana District Committee and Kuvempu University.
In a statement, state convenor M Gurumurthy said the seminar promotes a right-wing ideological agenda and is against the ideals of national poet Kuvempu and the spirit of the Constitution drafted by Dr B R Ambedkar.
He said the Bhagavad Gita has historically been used to justify the Chaturvarna system and the caste hierarchy, and described the event as an attempt to celebrate oppression.
Gurumurthy alleged that right-wing groups are using such programmes to push a single ideological framework across universities and to influence students.
KDSS questioned why Kuvempu University chose to organise the seminar when no other university in the state has done so.
The group also objected to the vice chancellor chairing the event, calling it “an insult to Kuvempu’s universal humanist values.” The committee further claimed that the invited speakers are associated with organisations that oppose the views of Gandhi, Basavanna and Ambedkar.
The late release of the invitation, just two days ahead of the event, has also raised concerns, it said. KDSS has urged the university to cancel the seminar immediately.