National-level art camp on life of Rani Abbakka gets underway

December 25, 2011

Mangalore, December 25: Mangalore University will support the activities carried out by Rani Abbakka Tulu Study Centre at Sanchayagiri in B C Road, said Vice Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankara Murthy.

He was speaking after inaugurating 'Drishti-Srishti'- the national-level art camp on the life of Rani Abbakka organised by Rani Abbakka Tulu Study Centre at Sanchayagiri on Saturday.

Appreciating the work of the Centre, the VC said that educative and informative programmes could be organised by Rani Abbakka Tulu Study Centre in collaboration with the Tulu Study Chair at the University.

“The Tulu Study Chair receives annual grant from the government for organising various programmes including seminars, conferences, talks etc. If the Abbakka Study Centre comes forward to organise programmes in association with the Tulu Study Chair, then the University could bear the expenses,” he informed.

He said that the concept of bringing the life of Abbakka on canvas in itself was a great initiative. The artists, who have never seen the real Abbakka will have to face the challenge of picturising her on canvas. The artists' perception and imagination power are tested here, he said adding that the programmes of this sort should be organised more and more so as to promote and preserve the rich culture and heritage of the region.

Kannada film director and Karnataka Film Academy President T S Nagabharana who was the chief guest on the occasion, stressed on the significance of understanding history.

“We all live with dreams for tomorrow. But, how can one live the tomorrows by forgetting the yesterdays. The life of one community becomes more significant after the community disappears. It is where the history holds value,” he said.

In his introductory remarks, Prof Thukaram Poojary, who was instrumental in starting the Centre, thanked all those who were the source of inspiration behind his work.

“Rani Abbakka becomes significant for she was the only woman who revolted against the Portuguese despite the opposition from her husband and the neighbouring rulers.

The courage and determination that Abbakka possessed, should be role model to the present generation,” he said.

Prof Poojary informed about his plans to build an open air theatre and a Tulu village at a cost of Rs 50 crore.

As many as 27 artists from across the nation including V T Kale from Bellary, Vasudeo Kamath from Mumbai, K N Ramachandran from Bangalore and others will paint the life and times of Rani Abbakka for the next five days.

The paintings will be exhibited at the Gallery in the Centre on December 28.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

HC refuses to quash probe against Mangaluru WhatsApp admin over offensive posts

News Network

February 1,2026

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash an investigation against a WhatsApp group administrator accused of allowing the circulation of obscene and offensive images depicting Hindutva politicians and idols in 2021.

Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that, prima facie, the ingredients of the offence under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code were made out. “The offence under Section 295A of the IPC is met to every word of its ingredient, albeit prima facie,” the judge said.

The petitioner, Sirajuddin, a resident of Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, had challenged the FIR registered against him at the CEN (Cyber, Economics and Narcotics) police station, Mangaluru, for offences under Section 295A of the IPC and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. Section 295A relates to punishment for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens.

According to the complaint filed by K Jayaraj Salian, also a resident of Belthangady taluk, he received a WhatsApp group link from an unknown source and was added to the group after accessing it. The group reportedly had six administrators and around 250 participants, where obscene and offensive images depicting Hindu deities and certain political figures were allegedly circulated repeatedly.

Sirajuddin was arrested in connection with the case and later released on bail on February 16, 2021. He argued before the court that he was being selectively targeted, while other administrators—including the creator of the group—were neither arrested nor investigated. He also contended that the Magistrate could not have taken cognisance of the offence under Section 295A without prior sanction under Section 196(1) of the CrPC.

Rejecting the argument, Justice Nagaprasanna held that prior sanction is required only at the stage of taking cognisance, and not at the stage of registration of the crime or during investigation.

The judge noted that the State had produced the entire investigation material before the court. “A perusal of the material reveals depictions of Hindu deities in an extraordinarily obscene, demeaning and profane manner. The content is such that its reproduction in a judicial order would itself be inappropriate,” the court said, adding that the material, on its face, had the tendency to outrage religious feelings and disturb communal harmony.

Observing that the case was still at the investigation stage, the court said it could not interdict the probe at this juncture. However, it expressed concern that the investigating officer appeared to have not proceeded uniformly against all administrators. The court clarified that if the investigation revealed the active involvement of any member in permitting the circulation of such content, they must also be proceeded against.

“At this investigative stage, any further observation by this Court would be unnecessary,” the order concluded.

Comments