The department says it is evident that the program rental amount was collected from the concerned organization after the issue was raised during zero hour in the Legislative Council. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
The higher education ministry on Tuesday canceled a three-day conference on Hindutva ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay that was scheduled to begin from Wednesday at the premises of the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) in Mysuru after it rejected a response from Vice-Chancellor Sharanappa V. Halas.
An hour after Prof. Halase said that “Ekatma Manav Darshan – Bharat’s Worldview” was a “private programme” and KSOU only rented out its convocation hall to the organizers of the event, N. Kumar, Deputy Secretary to Government (Universities), in a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, noted that he had given the invitation to the university as the university logo and the university logo. The program was chaired by prof. Halas.
“Therefore, there are no valid reasons for accepting the explanation provided in your written statement,” the letter said.
‘Ekatma Manav Darshan – Bharat’s Worldview’, commemorating 60 years of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Lectures, organized by the Research Foundation of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation and Prajna Pravah at the KSOU campus, raised a row with the state government, which opposed the event citing a breach of protocol and issuing a notice to Prof. Halas.
Rent paid later
The letter from the higher education department referred to documents, apparently about the payment of rent for the venue to the organizer KSOU, and said it was clear that the amount for the rent of the program was collected from the concerned organization after the issue was raised during the zero hour in the Legislative Council. “Although the program is listed as private and outside the scope of the university, no justification has been provided for the use of the university logo”.
Subject
Since the aim and subject of the conference is also against the aims and objectives of the university, it cannot be agreed to grant permission for a private program in violation of government guidelines, rules and protocol, the government said before canceling the program with immediate effect.
Earlier, when asked by The Hindu if he was participating in the programme, Prof Halase said the organizers had invited him to the conference “as a matter of courtesy”. Since Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, who is also the chancellor of the university, has been invited for the programme, the vice-chancellor said protocol required him to receive the governor.
Responding to the announcement of the exhibition, Professor Halase sought to clarify that the conference was not an official program of the KSOU. “The university’s role is limited to providing premises only on a lease basis,” he said.
KSOU has one of the most modern and spacious auditoriums in the region with a large seating capacity and the university, which is a self-financing institution, enables the use of the facility on a rental basis for conferences, seminars, symposia and other academic activities for “income generation and optimal utilization of resources”, he said.
Line with logo
In response to the use of the university’s emblem on the message that the organizers sent to the department of higher education and invite the faculty to participate, prof. Halase said the logo on the invitation was only used to facilitate the participation of KSOU PhD students, students and faculty. “It is customary for external organizers using the university’s facilities to invite our academic community and occasionally invite the vice-chancellor as the chief guest,” he added.
Published – 24 March 2026 21:18 IST
