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Mangalore University is preparing itself for establishment of a new chair in addition to the existing 19 chairs and study centres. The university has initiated the process for establishment of the Jain Adhyayana Peetha.

The State government, in its letter dated July 2, 2012, had asked the university to prepare a statute for establishing the Peetha in Mangalore University, indicating the structure, functions and financial implications and send it to the government with the approval of the authorities of the University.

Accordingly, the statute had received the green signal from the Academic Council and the statute will come into force from the date of assent of the Chancellor.

When Deccan Herald contacted Mangalore University Vice Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankaramurthy, he said that the initial grant to be released by the state government for the Peetha shall be the corpus. The accrued interest will be utilised for the fulfillment of the objectives of the Peetha. The State government had announced the setting up of the Jain Adhyayana Peetha in the university in its last budget. The Peetha will enable in the study of rich epigraphical and literary sources of the history of the Jain community.

It also aims at studying the Jain religion, traditions and practices, folk traditions and their contributions to social co-existence.

It will carry out the survey of the religious monuments to create awareness for their protection. The statute said “it will study the Jain inscriptions, palm leaf manuscripts and paintings available in the coastal region. It will also identify the historical events pertaining to the contributions of Jains for the communal harmony and to propagate the contributions of Jain philosophy.

It aims to evaluate the contributions of Jain philosophy to religion, literature, art, culture in the larger Indian context. The Peetha will also bring out books and monographs on various aspects of Jain studies.

It will also study the contributions of Jains to social, cultural and political life of India in general and Karnataka in particular. It will explore the cultural history of royal chieftains among the Jains and of the Jain religious centres of the region. It also aims at establishing a museum of Jain cultural artifacts and to create archives of audio visual, cultural and print materials,” the statute said.

The VC would head the eight-member advisory committee of the peetha. On getting approval from the government, a senior faculty of the university will be appointed as its coordinator.