Beltangady: Government of India ‘ Ajnata Sant Hardekar Manjappa’, studied by Arvind Chokkadi and published in the Kannada section of the National Book Trust of India under the ‘Ajadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ project, was released on 27 February 2023 at the World Book Fair in New Delhi.
Dr. T. Retired Professor of Delhi University who released the book and spoke. S. Satyanath, the work simply introduces the life of Hardekar Manjappa. Beyond that, the work speaks to the significance of Manjappa’s personality. Behind this work is Arvind Chokkadi’s extensive research and field study experiences. Chokkadi, who has written that he is not writing about things that are irrelevant today even in the issues of Hardekar Manjappa, has seen Manjappa as a personality of the present in a beautiful design. He said that the special feature of this work is that it records what the personalities of many fields of Manjappa’s time have said about Manjappa.
Dr. Purushottama Bilidmale, the retired head of the Kannada Studies Department of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who was the organizer of the program, said, “Gandhi was a big traveller. When you narrow it down, you get the experience of Hardekar Manjappa. Manjappa achieved harmony between the modern thought of Gandhi’s time and the twelfth century Sharan thought.” .Satyagraha Ashram and Satyagraha Dharma were both ideas of Manjappa.He was a great personality in social reform.Arvind Chokkadi is one of the main columnist writing about education,history,philosophies.He is a teacher in Morarji Desai residential school in a small village of Mundaje. He said that the Gandhi think tank formed by him is also involved in this regard and his positions are in touch with Hardekar Manjappa and Gandhi.
Speaking on the background of the book, Arvind Chokkadi said, “Gandhi came as a leader in India’s most desperate times. Other modern thoughts grew on Gandhi’s platform. Gandhi’s thoughts were multi-faceted. Hardekar Manjappa was also a multi-faceted thinker and multi-faceted doer. He said that it is also necessary today.
Nira Jain, Joint Director, National Book Trust of India welcomed. Hemashree, the manager of the Kannada department, organized the program. The one and a half hour program was held in Delhi on the Kannada book and was conducted in English. This work on Manjappa will be translated into various languages of India.
