HD Kumaraswamy demands South Indians' inclusion in expert panel to study Indian culture

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 16 (ANI): Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday demanded the inclusion of South Indians in the expert panel to study Indian culture. Expressing his displeasure, he raised several questions over the exclusion of any Kannadigas or South Indians who know the Dravidian culture.

"The Centre has constituted a 16-member expert committee to study Indian culture for the past 12,000 years. It is very unfortunate that the expert committee does not have any Kannadigas or South Indians who know Dravidian culture. The committee does not even have a woman member!" Kumaraswamy tweeted.

He also raised a question on how one could think of studying history and culture of the country without South Indians.

"Is it possible to conduct a fair and unbiased study of Karnataka's culture and heritage without having Kannadiga representatives in the committee? How can we think of studying the history and culture of the entire country by keeping South Indians out?" he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said, "We are the people who compared the country to our mother and the holy cow. How is that the committee to study the culture of a country that worships women do not have place for any woman?"
Kumaraswamy raised doubts over the objectivity of the proposed study while demanding the reconstitution of the study committee.

"There are doubts about the objectiveness of the proposed study as the committee is full of those who appear to be having prejudices over culture, history and heritage besides being fully occupied by north Indians. There is a dire need to reconstitute the study committee," he said in a series of tweets.

On September 14, the Centre had set up an expert committee for conducting a holistic study of the origin and evolution of Indian culture for the past 12,000 years before the present and its interface with other cultures of the world.

The committee comprises sixteen members including the Chairman of the Indian Archeological Society, KN Dikshit, Former Joint Director General of Archeological Survey of India RS Bisht, Representative from the Ministry of Culture, and Representative from Archeological Survey of India. (ANI)