Karnataka   

‘Name international airport after Basaveshwara’

DAVANGERE: The Basava Kendra has demanded that the international airport at Bangalore be named after 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara.

Members of the kendra Chaman Sab, Parameshwarappa, Hasbhavi Karibasappa and Rudramma told presspersons here on Saturday that Basaveshwara had not only campaigned against untouchability and for equal rights for women but also for social justice.

He rebelled against the caste system and tried to inculcate a feeling of oneness among the people, they said.

Basaveshwara’s ideals were relevant for all times, Mr. Chaman Sab said and added that he was indisputably a leader of a high order.

It would be ideal if the international airport was named after him instead of some political leader, they said.

The Kannika Parameshwari Devasthana Trust, Vasavi Yuva Jana, Vasavi Mahila Sangha and the Pragathi Public Trust have demanded that the airport be named after S.V. Shetty, said to be one of the first pilots in Asia.

The organisations said that Shetty had gone to England in 1912 and learnt several aspects of aeronautics. After returning from England, he designed and manufactured an aircraft, which was displayed at Cubbon Park for many years.

He had a strong desire to establish an aircraft manufacturing unit in Mysore and an aeronautical institute in Bangalore, for which he had written many times to the government, the organisations said.

But his efforts to set up the two institutions were thwarted by the English, they said.

Shetty had contributed substantially to the development of aeronautics in the country, the organisations claimed. They demanded that his contribution be suitably recognised.

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