AICTE sponsors workshop on temples in Karnataka for engineering college faculty

Anantha Chethana, an organisation run by Ananth Kumar Pratishthana, named after former Union minister H.N. Ananth Kumar, is conducting the workshop in Bengaluru on July 13.

The Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), a division of the Ministry of Education of the Union Government, has sponsored a workshop for the faculty members of engineering colleges on ‘temple knowledge traditions’, with specific references to temples in Karnataka.

Anantha Chethana, an organisation run by Ananth Kumar Pratishthana, named after former Union minister H.N. Ananth Kumar, is conducting the workshop in Bengaluru on July 13. Around 50 teaching faculty of engineering colleges, spread across Karnataka, are expected to attend the workshop, in which experts will deliver lectures on the ‘multifaceted role of temples in society, their influence on social structures, community life, art, architecture, and education’.

Gopal T.S., who works for the Pratishthana and is the Principal Investigator of the workshop, told The Hindu that the workshop is part of a course offered by the training centre on Indian Knowledge Systems.

“We have developed a lecture series in video and text format on the places of worship in Karnataka, and their impact on society. Experts, who have done research on the subject, have delivered talks. The course has been approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE),” he said.

The training centre has invited teaching faculty to attend the workshop.

According to the letter by the Pratishthana, the workshop would discuss temples acting as centres for community gatherings and festivals, among other things, in ancient times.

“The workshop will be introductory in nature. This is not for those who have already studied Kannada literature or history as part of their studies. This is for those who are into other fields. The Ministry of Education launched the IKS programme in 2023 with the intention of familiarising people spread across different fields with Indian knowledge. All these years, our education system glorified only what the Westerners taught us. There was an impression that whatever Westerners say is correct. Through courses like this, we want to explore the knowledge systems of our land,” he said.