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Veerendra Heggade

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Veerendra Heggade
Dr. D Veerendra Heggade at SDM College of Engineering and Technology, Dharwad
Personal life
Born (1948-11-25) 25 November 1948 (age 76)
Bantwal, Mysore State, Dominion of India (present–day Karnataka, India)
Other namesHeggade/Pergade,Kavandaru, Dharmarathna, Dharmabhushana
Religious life
ReligionJainism
Religious career
Based inDharmastala, Karnataka, India
Post(Hereditary administrator) of Dharmasthala Temple
Period in office1968 - present
PredecessorRatnavarma Heggade
Websitewww.veerendraheggade.in
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Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade[1] (born 25 November 1948) is an Indian philanthropist and the hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple. He succeeded to the post at the age of 19, on 24 October 1968, the 21st in his line.[2] He administers the temple and its properties, which are held in trust for the benefit of devotees and of Dharma. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since July 2022.

He has received multiple awards for his numerous contributions.[3] He was awarded the Karnataka Ratna award for the year 2009, the highest civilian award in Karnataka.[4]

On 6 July 2022 he was nominated as Rajya Sabha member by President Ram Nath Kovind.[5]

Personal life

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Heggade was born the eldest son of Dharmadhikari Ratnavarma Heggade and Rathnamma Heggade (née Shetty). He belongs to the Pergade dynasty of Tulu Jain Bunt[6] Lineage, the hereditary trustees of the famous Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy temple in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The family are trustees of a Hindu temple, although the family belong to the Digambara Jain community.[7] He has three younger brothers, Harshendra Kumar, Surendra Kumar and Rajendra Kumar, and a sister, Padmalata. He married Hemavathi Heggade in a match arranged by their parents. Veerendra Heggade and Hemavathy Heggadthi are the parents of daughter Shraddha.

As the eldest son, Veerendra Heggade succeeded his father as Dharmadhikari. He is the twenty-first member of the Pergade dynasty to hold the position of Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple. As he has no sons, his heir is his younger brother, Harshendra.

Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade is a car collector and photography aficionado. His car collection is on display in Dharmasthala.

Works and contributions

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Dharmadhikari

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As Dharmadhikari, he has continued the traditions of the institution:

  • He continued the tradition of the Kshetra to hold annual ‘Sarva Dharma and Sahitya Sammelana’ at Dharmasthala. The 85th Session of the Sammelana was held in 2017.

Heggade has reached beyond his administrative role:

Indian culture

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  • He is a patron of art and literature.
  • He publishes a monthly journal named Manjuvani, besides other publications.
  • To propagate Naturopathy, Yoga and Moral Education, 400 teachers of High Schools and Primary Schools train more than 30,000 students every year in Yoga, Moral and Spiritual Education.
  • He contributed to the revival of Yakshagana, maintaining a pure traditional approach.
  • Manjusha is a museum that displays rare collections of antiques and contemporary rare and valuable artefacts. A Vintage Car Museum attached to this museum has vehicles from many nations.
  • 4,000 palm-leaf manuscripts are preserved and research on them is conducted by scholars for the "Sri Manjunatheshwara Samskrithi Samshodhana Prathistana".

Social Service

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  • He has been conducting a Free Mass Marriage every year in Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala since 1972. 10,000 couples had been married under this scheme by April 2004.
  • He has constructed marriage halls at Bangalore, Kallahalli, Bhadravathi, Mysore, Shravanabelagola and Bantwal for the benefit of middle- and low-income families.
  • He introduced a rural development project in the coastal area of Karnataka, comprising 600 villages and 6 towns. It facilitates:
  • Empowerment of 1.35 million families by undertaking:
    • Agricultural extension,
    • Transfer of technology,
    • Women's empowerment,
    • Housing,
    • Alternate sources of energy,
    • Income generating activities,
    • Microfinance,
    • Education and
    • Health.
  • He has been promoting solar energy and providing such infrastructure to many villages.
  • He established the Rural Development and Self-Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI) in collaboration with Syndicate Bank, Syndicate Agricultural Foundation and Canara Bank to train rural youth for self-employment and volunteers for rural development in 1982. Since then, 20 branches of the RUDSETI have come up across India. Up to June 2004, 1.5 million youth have been trained in these institutes and their employment outcome is 65%.
  • He has hosted many national seminars including the one on "Rural India Real India" to mark Syndicate Bank's diamond jubilee.
  • He runs the Annapoorna kitchen at Dharmasthala, which is one of the largest and oldest family-run kitchens in India. The kitchen feeds around 50,000 persons every day. It was featured on the National Geographic TV show, "Mega Kitchens".[8]

Education

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  • He introduced a post graduate course at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College, Ujire.
  • He started SDMIMD College Mysore which evolved into a top Business college in India.
  • He started Rathnamanasa, a model hostel with training in Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairying and a concept of future farmers and citizens for high school boys at Ujire.
  • He started Sri Siddavana Gurukula, a model hostel for college students at Ujire to inspire students in agriculture, moral education and training in leadership programs.
  • He is the President of SDM Educational Society, Ujire, which manages educational institutions from primary to engineering, medical, ayurvedic and management institutes as well as hospitals.[9]

Tuluva culture

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  • Heggade supported preserving Tuluva culture and heritage.

Awards and honours

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The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award to Dr. Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 8 April 2015

References

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  1. ^ "Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade | PRSIndia". PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  2. ^ Long, Roger D.; Wolpert, Stanley A. (2004). Charisma and Commitment in South Asian History. Orient Blackswan. p. 369. ISBN 978-81-250-2641-9.
  3. ^ "Mr.D.Veerendra Heggade". www.jainworld.com.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Bhandari, Shashwat (6 July 2022). "Celebrated athlete PT Usha, Philanthropist Veerendra Heggade among 4 nominated for Rajya Sabha". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Who is Dr Veerendra Heggade from Karnataka and why his nomination to Rajya Sabha matters". 7 July 2022.
  7. ^ Rons Bantwal (11 October 2011). "Dharmadhikari Dr. D Veerendra Heggade Lauds Social Welfare of Bunts Sangh". Daijiworld. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Darmasthala kitchen to feature in Geographic channel". Business Standard. 22 June 2015 – via www.Business-standard.com.
  9. ^ "Profile of Padma Bhushan Dr. D.V Heggade". The Hindu. 15 September 2011 – via www.thehindu.com.
  10. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  11. ^ "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Shri. Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade". Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  13. ^ Mangalore, Mangalore Today. "Karnataka Ratna for Dharmadhikari, Dr Veerendra Heggade". mangaloretoday.com.
  14. ^ "Karnataka / Hassan News : Veerendra Heggade given 'Vatika Varshada Kannadiga' award". The Hindu. 22 November 2004. Archived from the original on 13 January 2005.
  15. ^ "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015.
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