Mangaluru: It is the failure to make youngsters understand the real dharma of love and compassion that has led them to fall prey to the agenda of fundamentalist forces in major communities, said theatre personality Prasanna here on Monday.

Inaugurating a seminar on “Indian secularism and Kannada”, Mr. Prasanna said that in this age of machine civilisation, it is the market that is deciding what is good and what is bad. “Involuntarily, our culture, our behaviour and our thinking have changed. We are totally immersed in an age where there is lack of trust among people,” he said.

In the fight for political power and religious supremacy in the last four decades, Mr. Prasanna said, youngsters have been taken away from the real sense of dharma. “You now see labour and fishermen showing off their mobile phones and riding on brand new vehicles,” he said. These people, who have turned materialistic, are the ones who become victims of communal agenda of the fundamentalist forces. It is necessary to make these people understand the dharma of love, he added.

Mr. Prasanna said that there was no better example of compassion than the instance of crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The ideals of Lord Rama and that of the Paigambar should be taken to the masses.

There was a lot to learn from the life of saints like Sant Kabir. “Unfortunately, educational institutions, which should mould the thinking of youngsters, have become an industry and are bringing out students to meet the needs of the market,” he said.

Director of DVG Kannada Study Centre of Tumakuru University Nityananda B. Shetty spoke on “Gandhiji’s tolerance”. This was followed by speeches by Professor Rajaram Tolpady from Mangalore University, Professor Ivan Francis Lobo from Government First Grade College, Puttur, Retired Professor from Kuvempu University Rajendra Chenni, critic G. Rajashekar and Professor B. Shivaram Shetty from SVP Kannada Study Centre of Mangalore University.