SAMBALPUR: A Bhima Bhoi Research Chair was set up at Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) on its 75th foundation day on Sunday.
The Chair was inaugurated by Rairakhol MLA Rohit Pujari in the presence of Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das, Sambalpur University Vice-Chancellor Deepak Behera, GMU Vice-Chancellor Atanu Kumar Pati and Madhusudan Padhi, Principal Secretary to Governor.
The premier institution of the State was upgraded to a university in 2015. “The 19th-century eminent poet Bhima Bhoi was a saint and philosopher. Humanity and liberation of the world were the central theme of his poetic creations.
The poet’s assertion ‘mo jeevana pachhe narke padithau, jagata uddhara heu’ (let my life remain inglorious, let the world achieve salvation) showcases his broad thinking,” said Uma Charan Pati, Deputy Registrar of GMU.
Pati said the Bhima Bhoi Research Chair has three major objectives-conducting research on Dalit literature and life of Bhima Bhoi, research on social exclusion of socially and economically deprived section and work on the inclusive policy for the deprived class.
The Chair will also help publication and preservation of Dalit literature besides that of Bhima Bhoi, he said. The Chair has been set up for a period of five years but its term may be extended, he added.
Of the Rs 66 lakh sought from the state government to run the Chair for five years, Rs 18 lakh has been sanctioned in the first phase, Pati said. The university has already appointed three staffers, including a Chair Professor, a computer assistant and an attendant to coordinate with different research agencies and bringing in projects. The students of GMU will also be involved in the research work, he said.