Members of the Lingayat community are set to hold a protest in Bengaluru, demanding a separate religious status to consider them a religious minority. The development comes amid protests by various communities demanding reservation in the poll-bound state.
Channabasawananda Swamy, honorary president of the All India Lingayat Coordination Committee, had earlier said that he would vote for the party which would recommend to the Center for independent religious status for the Lingayat community.
Swamy said the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had made a suggestion on autonomous religious status to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, but it was rejected by the Centre. “Today, because there is a BJP government in the state and at the Centre, we urge Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to send the recommendation again to the Center and get consent. In this regard, we are doing a satyagraha,” he said, according to a report. Hindustan Times,
What is the demand of Lingayat community?
Swami told Hindustan Times That “Supreme Court has said that Hinduism is not a religion, but a way of life. Prime Minister Narendra Modi It has also been said. Sikhism is a distinct religion with a history of about 500 years. When Jains also have a separate religion, why shouldn’t the Lingayat community with a history of 900 years have a separate religion?
This comes as the state government creates two new categories for Lingayats and Vokkaligas, 2C and 2D, whose reservation requirement will be met from a share of the 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
The administration said that Vokkaligas, who are classified as 3A, will be classified as 2C. Veerashaiva-Lingayats, who are currently classified as 3B, will be classified as 2D. The existing 3A and 3B categories will be done away with.
Nevertheless, the Panchamasali Lingayats, a sub-sect of the group fighting for the 15% quota under the OBC 2A category, rejected Bommai’s proposal and warned of consequences in the upcoming assembly elections, the report said.
Who are Lingayats?
Lingayats, who have been supporters of the BJP for more than two decades, account for 17% of Karnataka’s population and are said to influence the outcome of 100 of the state’s 224 assembly seats.
The Lingayat religion is believed to have evolved from the teachings of the 12th century social reformer and Kannada poet Basava. However, many scholars believe that he helped establish an established sect. Basava, who was inspired by the ‘Bhakti’ movement, rejected temple worship and Brahmin ceremonies in favor of a religion free from gender and religious bias, says a report impression,
Over the years, many people from backward castes chose to be Lingayats to escape the rigid Hindu caste system.
What does the status of Lingayats as a religious minority indicate?
If the government accedes to the demand, Lingayats will be able to set up and run their own educational institutions, among other things.
Setback for BJP
Expressing displeasure over not being recognized and given election tickets despite serving the BJP for decades, Lingayat leaders HD Thammaiah and KS Kiran Kumar, along with 100 other party leaders, on Sunday joined the Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly polls. Have become. Read more
HD Thammaiah, who has been working for the BJP for the last 18 years, has left the party after BJP national secretary and MLA CT Ravi was denied election ticket from Chikmagalur constituency.
caste balance for karnataka election
With only a few months until the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is caught in a bind as both Vokkaligas and Lingayats – two upper caste, powerful communities in the state – push for enhanced reservations .
In October, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s government increased Karnataka’s reservation quota for Scheduled Castes from 15% to 17% and for Scheduled Tribes from 3% to 7%, exceeding the Supreme Court’s overall reservation norm of 50%.
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