Union Government sponsors workshop on temples in Karnataka for engineering college faculty

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’.

Indian knowledge system

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.

IKS to be passed on to students

Those faculty members, who attend the workshop, may introduce these subjects as part of their curriculum at their institute.

“We have already created the material, which consists of 50 video lectures and written material. We will submit the same to AICTE. Making use of this, teachers who attend the workshop can offer a course on this subject as an elective to their students in their respective colleges,” Mr. Gopal added.

The IKS division, located at AICTE headquarters in Delhi, was set up in October 2020, following a workshop on “Research in Indian Traditional Knowledge Systems—Bharatiya Jnana Parampara”, held in March 2020. The team working for IKS reports to the Chairman of AICTE. It has 27 research centres, 17 teacher training centres, and seven Bhasha Kendras. The training centre set up by Ananth Kumar Pratishthana is one of them. These centres propose courses and get approval from the Ministry of Education, besides funding. The centres get funding up to ₹8.5 lakh per course.

The Prathisthana has written letters to colleges inviting participants for the workshop. As the workshop has been sponsored by AICTE, the participants get TADA, besides a certificate of participation.

‘Why focus only on temples?’

An associate professor at a reputed engineering college said that the workshop is in no way connected to engineering colleges. “AICTE is meant for technical education. The very idea of promoting courses and workshops on such things is problematic. I don’t know how this workshop will enhance the quality of teaching in engineering colleges,” he said. He questioned the rationale of the workshop focusing on temples while ignoring the art and architecture of other religious structures.