Infosys executive chairman N R Narayana Murthy and entrepreneur Vijay Sankeshwar were on Thursday awarded the ‘Kayaka Ratna’ awards by Basava Samiti for the employment opportunities they have generated in the state.
After conferring the awards on them, Sanehalli Sri Mutt seer Panditaradhya Shivacharya Swami raked up a three-year old issue as he criticised Kannada litterateurs who had expressed opposition to Murthy inaugurating the Vishwa Kannada Sammelan in Belgaum.
“It is not enough to chant ‘Kannada Kannada’ and do nothing about it. Not only is Murthy a Kannadiga, he has given us global recognition through the entrepreneurial work he has done. When some writers made an issue, we responded that literature is not the only achievement that qualifies a person to be able to inaugurate the World Kannada Meet,” the seer said.
The Basava Samiti, founded by former president B D Jatti, instituted the Kayaka Ratna awards for the first time to coincide with International Workers’ Day and to celebrate reformer Basavanna’s ‘Kayakave Kailasa’ ideology. “Basavanna is an example for all of us on how we should conduct ourselves and become better human beings,” Murthy said.