Politics of religion: When mutts mute voices of Lingayats and Veerashaivas
It’s described as a distinct Shaivite religion centering around the worship of Hindu god, Lord Shiva . But its followers , the Lingayats, hold the concept of Ishta Linga or personal God close to their hearts and are staunchly loyal to 12th century social reformer and poet, Basaveshwara, a strong opponent of the caste system and Vedic rituals.
Arguing that this sets them apart from the regular Hindu, a section of the Lingayats, who form nearly 16 to 17 per cent of the state’s population, believes the community deserves to be recognised as a separate religious group. Although not a new demand, it has caught on of late with CM Siddaramaiah being willing to consider it or at least forward it to the Centre for its approval or otherwise.
Spread across the breadth of Karnataka, except perhaps along its coast, the community is socially perceived to be an upper caste along with the other dominant caste, the Vokkaligas, but is officially categorised under other backward castes in the state, enjoying the various benefits that go along with it. If given a separate religious tag it could enjoy a minority status instead with huge benefits particularly in the field of education, something that could help the many institutions run by the Lingayat maths in the state.
But despite these advantages, not everyone in the community seems enthused by the demand of the Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha for a separate religious tag. At the root of the confusion seems to be the question : Are Veerashaivas Lingayats and can their Mahasabha make such a demand on their behalf? While the heads of various Virakta Mutts and other leaders seem to think they are not part of the Lingayat community, the Mahasabha itself doesn’t seem deterred. At its Executive Committee meeting in Bengaluru on Wednesday, it stuck to its stand that the Veerashaivas and Lingayats are one and the same and appealed to people to fight attempts to “divide” the community.
But unimpressed by its resolution, the heads of some Virakta Mutts strongly say its latest decision to “work towards bringing unanimity on the issue” will not amount to anything as the heads of the Veeerashaiva panchapeethas are unwilling to accept Basavanna as the founder of the Lingayat religion. “Differences on whether Basavanna is the founder of Lingayatism or not have existed for 900 years and no consensus has been reached on the issue. The Mahasabha wants to play safe now as the situation has reached a flashpoint, but there dan be no agreement on this ,” asserts Dr Sarangadeshikendra Swamiji, the Jagadguru of Srishaila Saranga Mutt.
And now things seem to be getting more complicated as the “real Lingayats" seem ready to take the issue of a separate religious tag forward on their own steam. Says Dr Sarangadeshikendra Swamiji, “As we don’t want our children to be deprived of education and other benefits which they could get if we are accorded a separate religious status, we will soon launch an Akhila Karnataka Lingayat Mahasabha to take the issue forward.”
The Veerashaiva Mahasabha had made an effort in the past too to unite the two factions, but failed. In June 2003, it organised a meeting of the five panchpeethas of Kashi, Ujjain, Dwaraka, Rambapuri and Srishail, which advocate Veerashaivism and the heads of various Virakta Mutts at Kudala Sangama and a resolution was passed declaring both Veerashaivas and Lingayats as one and the same. But in practice the two have refused to give up their respective identities and over the years many political leaders and religious heads too have made flip-flops on the question of whether the Veerashaivas and Lingayats are part of the same community. Prominent among them are the Jagadguru of Rambapuri Peetha, Sri Veersasomeshwara Swamiji, and Minister for Water Resources, M B Patil. The latter had signed the memorandum of the Veerashaiva Mahasabha in 2013 seeking independent religious status for Veerashaiva –Lingayats, but recently asserted that Veerashaivas are a different community while supporting the demand for a
separate religious tag for Lingayats.
Interestingly, the BJP, which has been cornering the Lingayat vote in the state thanks mainly to its state chief and former Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa, a prominent member of the community, has stayed largely out of the debate. Although Mr Yeddyurappa is a signitory to the Veerashaiva Mahasabha’s petition for a separate religious status, he has chosen to maintain a studied silence on the issue, and has accused the Chief Minister of trying to divide the community for the Congress’ political ends in the run-up to the coming assembly polls in the state.
Veersahaiva-Lingayat seers at the recent rally in Bidar.
Champa: Veerashaivas, Lingayats like Rightists, Leftists
While endorsing the demand for an independent religious status for Lingayats, well known Kannada writer and progressive thinker, Chandrashekhar Patil, believes that the Veerashaivas and Lingayats are poles apart. “The two communities have been silently waging a battle for centuries. The Lingayats have been traditionally discriminated against by Veerashaivas. The Veerashaivas feel superior to Lingayats in many ways and don't consider Basavanna as their dharma guru. This long conflict has now come out in the open. Ideologically , Lingayats are left wing and Veershaivas, right wing. And they cannot be together,” he declares, revealing that he has joined the leftist group, 'Nyayakagi Navu', which plans to hold discussions over the next few months to arrive at a consensus on the demand for a separate religious tag for Lingayats.
