‘Ekatma Manav Darshan’ event at KSOU : Conference to begin at 5 pm despite Government move to cancel

Mysore/Mysuru: Even as the State Government late last evening ordered cancellation of the three-day International Conference titled ‘Ekatma Manav Darshan – Bharat’s World View’ at the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) campus, the event is set to be held as scheduled from today (Mar. 25).

The Conference is slated to be inaugurated at 5 pm, with more than 500 delegates from across the country already having arrived in Mysuru.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, KSOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sharanappa V. Halse confirmed that the event will take place at the Convocation Hall in the Muktagangothri campus, with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot expected to participate in the inaugural session  later this afternoon.

The Conference has been organised to commemorate 60 years of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya’s lectures on ‘Ekatma Manav Darshan’ (Integral Humanism). It is being held in collaboration with Prajna Pravah, Karnataka and the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation from Mar. 25 to 27.

However, the State Higher Education Department had objected to the event being conducted at the State-run University, citing a violation of protocol and discourtesy to the Government. The Department had issued a show-cause notice to the Vice-Chancellor seeking an explanation.

Reply to show-cause notice

In his reply, Prof. Halse said, the University had only rented out the venue and was not involved in organising the Conference.

However, the Government rejected the explanation while ordering the cancellation of the event. In its communication, the Government said that although the event was described as private, the invitation letter listed KSOU as the host University, carried the University’s logo and showed the Vice-Chancellor presiding over the programme, leaving no valid grounds to accept the clarification.

Subsequently, the Government directed KSOU on Tuesday to cancel the event, a day before it was scheduled to begin. Despite the directive, the Conference will proceed at the same venue as planned, Prof. Halse said, confirming the Governor’s participation in the inaugural session later today.

Invites extended

The invitation lists Vice-Chancellors of Rani Chennamma University, Davanagere University, Karnataka Janapada University, Haveri University, Hassan University, Kodagu University, Chamarajanagar University and Tumkur University, among others, as participants.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is scheduled to deliver a special lecture, while Suttur Mutt Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji is also expected to attend the event.