BHUBANESWAR: The Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) will set up field centres for studies in Bhima Bhoi and Mahima Dharma at the Kandhara and Khaliapali villages of Sambalpur district. The Higher Education department gave the university a go-ahead in this regard on Friday.
GMU sent a proposal on the field centres to the department on May 30. The two centres will focus on studies and dissemination of ideas and teachings of Bhima Bhoi and Mahima Dharma.
University authorities said the centres will take up research activities on socio-economic, psycho-cultural and spiritual issues, besides looking into the preservation and digitisation of manuscripts on the two subjects. “Kandhara is known as the place for the enlightenment of Bhima Bhoi. Similarly, Khaliapali is known as karma bhoomi or his sadhana pitha. Hence, Kandhara and Khaliapali were chosen for setting up these centres,” said an official of the university.
The purpose of the Kandhara Centre would be to supplement research work on Bhima Bhoi. Similarly, the centre at Khaliapali will be used as a research ground for scholars who want to stay there and learn about Mahima Dharma.
Through these two centres, GMU plans to publish research papers in reputed journals in the next five years to bring Mahima Dharma and the teachings of Bhima Bhoi to the limelight. The centres will also translate original manuscripts of Bhima Bhoi into English and other languages and publish books on the teachings of Bhoi and its impact on the social life of Odisha.
The university will also introduce a value-added course ‘humanism and religion: teachings of Mahima dharma’ from the next academic session. The Bhima Bhoi chair professor of the institution will act as the director of the centres. Four research assistants, two each for both centres, will be appointed.