NTM School shifted, pro-Kannada activists stage protest

The NTM School in the city, to save which Kannada activists were staging a prolonged agitation, has been shifted triggering protests from pro-Kannada organisations. The process to shift the school began on Thursday and the furniture and other equipment was bundled into a goods carrier and taken to an adjoining building. Activists belonging to NTM School Horata Samithi condemned the move and demonstrated but there was a strong posse of police to thwart any untoward incident. The shifting of NTM School is mired in controversy as there is a plan for a memorial for Swami Vivekananda at the same place. The seer had visited Mysuru in 1892 and the spot where he stayed was Niranjana Mutt on whose premises the school is also located. To mark the 150th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, a memorial was mooted and Ramakrishna Ashram was vested with the responsibility of executing it and the government transferred the property to the Ashram in 2013. The decision was also in sync with the government’s policy of merging schools with less students, to nearby institutions. The pro-Kannada activists had questioned the transfer of property and challenged it in court. However, the High Court of Karnataka ruled that the transfer was in order. The pro-Kannada activists had claimed that they were not opposed to the memorial but did not want the school to be shifted or closed.The memorial has been mooted as a cultural centre for youth and include a meditation centre, an auditorium, a yoga training centre, facilities for coaching classes for competitive examinations, vocational training centre and a library to help the student community.