Mysuru: Hailing the philosophy of Basava, the 12th Century social reformer, as relevant for all time, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reflected that if all people were treated equally, irrespective of their caste, his dream would have been realised.
“It is difficult to even imagine how brutal caste discrimination was in the 12th century. Sadly, even after 850 years, these practices have not disappeared. But in the Anubhavan mantapa, 90 per cent of the positions were given to women and the downtrodden. What Basavanna did against these inhuman practices was a revolution,” he noted, speaking at the Basava Jayanthi celebrations here on Monday.
The Basava Rashtriya Puraskar was awarded to 88- year- old litterateur Go Ru Channabasappa on the occasion. Meanwhile, Go Ru Channabasappa appealed to the state government to rename the Women's University, Vijayapura after Akkamahadevi, the Gulbarga University after Saint Basavanna, the Karnataka State Law University, Hubballi, after Dr B R Ambedkar and the Mundgod forest after Channabasavanna. He regretted that the social evils which Basavanna had fought all his life, had bounced back in more dangerous form today.
