'Be human first': Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah lessons kids while talking about Basavanna. Watch

The video shows the school children actively engaging with the lesson, repeating Siddaramaiah’s words as they listen intently.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, during the ongoing Winter Session in Belagavi, took the opportunity to educate school children about the teachings of Basavanna and the Anubhava Mantapa. The children had visited the Suvarna Soudha as part of their trip.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah talking to children in Belagavi. (X/@ChekrishnaCk)

In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Siddaramaiah is seen speaking to the students about Basavanna's philosophy of equality and the importance of learning. He emphasised that children should focus on their studies and strive to "be human first," a sentiment inspired by Basavanna's teachings.

The video shows the school children actively engaging with the lesson, repeating Siddaramaiah’s words as they listen intently.

Check out the video here:

Basava’s Anubhava Mantapa (‘Pavilion of Experience’), as much a democratic concept as a physical space, offered people of all castes and genders a platform to express themselves in speech and poetry – this last fostered a genre of Kannada devotional and philosophical literature, rooted in social reality, called vachana sahitya.

Born circa 1106 to a Shaiva Brahmin couple of Basavana Bagewadi (in Bijapur district), then part of the powerful Western Chalukya empire, Basava, so the story goes, rejected the trappings of his caste and left home as a boy to seek guidance at the feet of Ishanya Guru at Kudalasangama (in Bagalkote district).

Karnataka winter session updates

The Karnataka Assembly on Monday unanimously passed eight Bills, including one aimed at protecting the interests of depositors in private financial institutions.

The bills tabled and passed included the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, the Protection of Interest of Depositors in Karnataka Financial Institutions (Amendment) Bill, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Second Amendment) Bill, and the Karnataka Tourism Ropeways Bill.

Other bills passed were the Basavanbagewadi Development Authority Bill, the Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Bill, the Chanakya University (Amendment) Bill, and the Karnataka Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) (Amendment) Bill.