Over 50 writers seek action against V-C for religious invite on official letterhead
Over 50 writers, thinkers, and activists have written to Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar against Vishnu Vardhan, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Horticulture Sciences (UHS), Bagalkot, for inviting staff and students to a religious ceremony using the university's official letterhead. The complainants have sought disciplinary action against the Vice-Chancellor, alleging that the invitation made attendance seem mandatory.
The invitation, signed by the Vice-Chancellor and issued on behalf of his family, calls officers, teaching and non-teaching staff, and students of the main campus to the Sri Satyanarayana Puja, Navagraha Shanti Homa, and Sri Mahaganapati Puja Programme at his official residence on the campus. A copy of the invite was attached to the complaint sent to the Chief Minister.
The complainants argue that an individual's faith and the functioning of a public institution are separate matters. While there is no objection to personal religious practices, using the official letterhead, the Vice-Chancellor's signature, and his position to extend the invitation turns a private belief into an institutional directive. They said that subordinate employees and students may not feel free to decline, making it an indirect imposition.
The letter states that India is a secular and democratic country, and the Constitution encourages citizens to promote a spirit of inquiry and a scientific temper. Universities, as centres of knowledge, are expected to transcend caste, religion, and beliefs. The complainants contend that the Vice-Chancellor's action violates constitutional values and the State government's service rules. They also expressed alarm that such practices are becoming "normal" in universities across the State, and criticised government-appointed Chancellors for acting like priests of religious practices.
They have demanded that the government suspend the Vice-Chancellor and issue orders to all universities and colleges prohibiting religious ceremonies in the name of institutions or in government buildings.
The signatories include activist Basavaraj Sulibhavi; educationists Niranjanaradhya V.P. and Anil Hosamani; Dalit ideologue, writer, and physician H.S. Anupama; journalists Chandrakanth Vaddu, Sanat Kumar Belagali, and Gangadhar Hiregutti; theatre personality B. Suresh; writers Veerabhadrappa, Mudnakuda Chinnaswamy, Nataraja S. Budalu, Vasundhara Bhupathi, Vijayamma, and K. Phaniraj; and retired professor Rajendra Potdar of UAS, Dharwad, among others.
