Upper castes too should raise their voice against caste system: Writer

Kendra Sahitya Academy awardee Dr. Moodnakudu Chinnaswamy feted

Mysore/Mysuru: Observing that caste system is not the bane of only Dalits, noted writer Prof. O.L. Nagabhushanaswamy said that upper castes too should join hands in the eradication of this discriminatory system.

He was speaking at Kendra Sahitya Academy awardee Dr. Moodnakudu Chinnaswamy’s Sahityagoshti and felicitation programme jointly organised by Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies (KIKS) and Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sangha at B.M.Shri auditorium in KIKS premises, Manasagangothri here on Feb. 22.

Reiterating that the current caste system has been haunting not only the Dalits but upper castes too, Prof. Nagabhushanswamy said that as such, upper castes too should raise their voice.

Stressing on the need for documentation of the plight and trauma of Dalits, the Minorities and women and which communities have remained silent for centuries, he regretted that poets too are being classified based on their castes and communities these days, which does not augur well for the society.

Contending that social inequality and discrimination is the result of the caste system, Prof. Nagabhushanaswamy said that he has translated Nobel Prize winner Dr. Annie Lennox’s book into Kannada.

“Dr. Moodnakoodu Chinna- swamy’s works highlight the caste discrimination and cruelty in the society. The trauma of all oppressed sections of the society should be documented as such a thing may help in bringing about a societal transformation.

His works also throws light on how to understand modern times in the background of  Gautama Buddha’s ideology,” he said.

Writer Prof. C. Naganna, who was the chief guest, recalled his association with Dr. Chinna- swamy and explained  how the two wrote books.

Dr. Chinnaswamy, who recently won the Kendra Sahitya Academy award, was felicitated on the occasion.

KIKS Director Prof. Vijayakumari Karikal, faculties Prof. S.D. Shashikala and Dr. N.K. Lolakshi, Writer Prof. Kalegowda Nagawara, University of Mysore Research Scholars Association President Nataraj Shivanna, Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sangha (BVS) Co-ordinator Hoovina Siddu and others were present on the occasion.