Date:01/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/01/stories/2007090155230500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Dravidian University in expansion mode

Correspondent

Kakinada: The Dravidian University has planned to open regional centres in all the southern States besides, adding a few distance education centres, which would take the number of centres to 110, according to university Vice-Chancellor Gangisetti Lakshminarayana.

Already the regional centres in Bangalore and Edipal in Kerala have started admissions and the location for the centre in Tamil Nadu has to be decided and Madurai would be the choice.

The Vice-Chancellor who was on a visit here to inaugurate the Pharmacy College at Korangi, told that a Centre for Preservation of Endangered Dravidian Tribal Languages at Kuppam has been started, with the support of UNESCO.

It would prepare separate grammar books for the tribal languages in the State.

The university has aimed at promotion of integrated studies in Dravidian languages. “We will translate the books authored by eminent poets, social reformers of southern States in to other Dravidian languages”, he added.

The Vice-Chancellor said that a compendium of Dravidian heritage in linguistic, cultural and music and folk arts would be brought, which would be completed in a couple of years.

The university has been offering courses in Astrology, Vaastu and Performed Arts. Since the influence of Dravidian languages extended from Baluchistan to Cape Cameron, they were now promoting research on the languages in other states.