B.Ed students stage street play in Shivamogga

Students of NES College of Education staged a street play, Manushyaragona (Let’s become human beings), at Mahatma Gandhi Park in Shivamogga on Friday to mark National Legal Services Day.

They introduced people to the work of the Legal Services Authority, which stands as a voice for the suffering and a source of justice for the exploited. The play spoke of the many evils haunting society: modern technologies that lure people in with their attractions, cyber fraud, and the exploitation of families caused by alcoholism.

Inaugurating the programme, District Legal Services Authority secretary and judge M.S. Santhosh said law was not limited to crime or court cases but was bound up with every citizen’s right to life, protection and dignity. People should not live with injustice simply because they were unaware of the law, he said. The attitude of learning about the law only when a case arises must change, he added, stressing that awareness of the law was essential for ordinary people.

N.K. Chidananda, principal of the college, said that from ancient times, this land had clear ideas of justice, dharma and governance. From the village-level systems of Ashoka’s time to the administration of various monarchies, the importance of rules and justice in organising society and public life had been recognised. Awareness of law and the idea of justice were woven into the heritage of Indian civilisation, he said.

C.M. Nripatunga, Public Relations Officer of the National Education Society, spoke on the objectives of the programme. Programme officer Manju N.D., Sharan and others were present.