The 536th birth anniversary of saint Kanakadas was celebrated on Thursday and tributes were paid to him by recalling his quest for an egalitarian society.
The district in charge minister H.C. Mahadevappa inaugurated the celebrations and was joined by other elected representatives who made floral offerings to the portrait of the saint.
Mr. Mahadevappa said that the saint and poet Kanakadasa strived to establish an egalitarian society devoid of caste discrimination and preached the oneness of humanity. He was among the foremost in Kannada literature who strove for an end to social inequality and discrimination in society, Mr. Mahadevappa said.
Turning to the present policies of the State government Mr. Mahadevappa said it was committed for social justice and was not opposed to any sect or religion. He drew a parallel between Basavanna and Kanakadas and said that the former strived for social equality through his compositions known as Sharana Sahitya while the latter worked for social change through devotional hymns.
The Minister said true secularism lies in ensuring that the concepts of caste and religion did not rear its head in administrative issues.
Litterateur Kabbinale Vasanth Bharadwaj said Kanakadasa was present even in the present times and lived through his works which, he said, was the guiding light for various problems in society.
MLC A.H. Vishwanath, Dr. D. Thimmaiah, Marithibbegowda, C.N.Manjegowda, MLA T.S. Srivatsa, DC K.V. Rajendra, Zilla Panchayat CEO K.M. Gayatri, administrative officer of MCC Somashekar, former MLA M.K. Somashekar and others were present. Earlier, a procession was also taken out with cultural troupes to mark the occasion.
