The New Indian Express ·
Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman calls for Basavanna's principles to guide lawmaking
BENGALURU: On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Saleem Ahmed on Monday visited the historic Anubhava Mantapa in Basavkalyan, describing the 12th-century institution founded by social reformer Basavanna as a wellspring of democratic thought that modern legislatures have yet to fully absorb.
Speaking to the TNIE after his visit, Ahmed, who was recently granted a five-year pass allowing him uninterrupted access to Parliament, said Basavanna's teachings on inclusiveness remain, in his words, the bedrock of democracy to this day. "What he taught us about equality, we are finding it challenging to implement even to this day," he said, adding that Basavanna's ideas were centuries ahead of his time.
Ahmed said that he had learnt more about democracy from Anubhava Mantapa than from any other institution of comparable antiquity, and called for Basavanna's guiding principles to be implemented in the legislative council and legislative assemblies.
