Mysuru: The Brahminical class has finished Swami Vivekananda who preached equality. They are on the verge of ‘annihilating’ Dr. Ambedkar and now getting armed to wipe out Poet Laureate Kuvempu, said National School of Drama (NSD) Bengaluru Centre Director C. Basavalingaiah.

He was speaking during the valedictory ceremony of Kuvempu  Vishwamanava Sandesha Jatha, organised by Manava Bhanduthva Vedike at BM Shri auditorium in Manasagangothri, here recently.

The people of the State should be on high alert to see that they are not influenced by the hijack culture. Otherwise, there is no doubt that Karnataka will become another Bihar, he said.

How could the Muslims who ruled for over 600 years become outsiders?  Who is poisoning the minds of the youth with this image, he asked. No one could imagine that Dakshina Kannada District where revered Gurus stayed could turn into a communal cauldron.

“The Brahminical class in the country does not keep the enemy in the front. Instead, it has merged it into our minds. Kuvempu and Pampa are like two shores in Kannada literature. There is a conspiracy going on to turn it upside down. There was a class of people who insulted Kuvempu when he wrote Shri Ramayana Darshanam, saying that he was not a poet. When he penned Shudra Tapasvi play, they said he was not a dramatist,” he said and added that the atmosphere is so charged that they would not hesitate to paint Kuvempu in saffron in the coming days as they have painted a Police Station in Uttar Pradesh with the same colour.

The digital media is responsible for breaking the idea of inclusiveness and diversity in the country. The television media is also adding fuel to the fire. It is very important to reach Basavanna’s verses, Sarvajna’s tripadis and Kuvempu’s poems to the people, the former Rangayana Director said.

Litterateur Prof. C.P. Krishnakumar, who inaugurated the programme, said that half-baked knowledge is more dangerous than complete ignorance. “Science teachers who after teaching science in the classes go home and look at Rahukala-Gulikala are not teachers at all. They are ‘donkeys carrying science’ is how Kuvempu used to describe them,” he recalled.

Many great scholars have not understood Kuvempu’s Vishwamanava (Universal Man) concept. “I tried to write several letters in this regard to make them understand. But he used to tell me to stop writing, as they are filled with ignorance,” he said.

Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies Director Dr. Priti Srimandhar kumar, actor Chethan, District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Dr. Y.D. Rajanna and Manava Bhanduthva Vedike convenor Wilfred D’Souza were present.