Lingayats or Veerashaiva-Lingayats or Hindus? In Karnataka, a politically-charged conflict over religion and caste

The communicative truthful far: Even arsenic Karnataka began its 2nd socio-economic survey connected September 22, a conflict of identities betwixt the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, the largest caste radical successful the State, continues to beryllium waged on the sidelines. 

The Karnataka Social and Educational Survey 2025 is being conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes to cod information connected socio-educational and economical parameters. Though determining “backwardness” of assorted caste groups is the cardinal nonsubjective of the survey, the absorption of the ascendant communities has been chiefly connected numerical consolidation.

One facet that has made headlines consistently is the disorder and disagreements wrong the Veerashaiva-Lingayat assemblage implicit nomenclature. There person been clashes implicit contradictory appeals by representatives of caste organisations, governmental leaders and seers connected however to sanction their assemblage and caste successful the ‘Religion’ column.

Why has the request for a abstracted religion for Veerashaiva-Lingayats travel up now? What is the disorder astir nomenclature?

Who are Lingayats and Veershaivas?

The Lingayats, a numerically and politically beardown assemblage of Karnataka, are followers of the 12th period societal reformer-philosopher-poet Basaveshwara who defied the caste strategy and Vedic rituals. They reason that the premise of this rebellion was rooted successful absorption to the established Hindu order, and hence privation to beryllium categorised arsenic a abstracted spiritual group. Lingayats worship ‘Parashiva’ and accidental that the conception of ‘Ishta Linga’ (personal god) and rules of behaviour prescribed by Basaveshwara cannot beryllium equated to the Hindu mode of life.

The Veerashaiva, connected the different hand, is simply a Shaivate spiritual tradition. Its followers adhere to the Vedas and assertion to predate the reformist question that created the Lingayats.

The combat for ‘Lingayatism’

Though the request for a abstracted individuality has travel up doubly truthful far, the agitation is implicit 4 decades old. The past clip it reared its caput was successful 2017, erstwhile a mega question for an autarkic religion presumption for ‘Lingayatism’ saw a resurgence successful the run-up to the 2018 Assembly elections. 

In December 2017, the Karnataka authorities led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acceptable up a seven-member adept committee headed by the erstwhile High Court justice H.N. Nagmohan Das to measure proposals seeking to see Lingayats arsenic a spiritual minority.

In March 2018, based connected the State Cabinet’s support of the committee’s recommendation, the Karnataka authorities granted “religious minority” designation to Lingayats and Veerashaivas who travel Basava Tatva. It besides urged the Centre to notify the presumption nether the Central Minority Commission Act.

However, connected December 10, 2018, the Union authorities told the Karnataka High Court that it had rejected the proposal of the State authorities to assistance spiritual number presumption to Lingayat and Veerashaiva community.

It reiterated what it had said successful a November 23, 2018 missive to the State government, that the Lingayat/Veerashaiva assemblage is portion of Hindu religion.

It has been reported that Veerashaiva Lingayats volition beryllium demanding a religion codification for their assemblage successful the 16th nationalist census scheduled to statesman successful October 2026. The ABVLM volition property for a codification fig oregon a file oregon abbreviation for signaling their religion arsenic Veerashaiva Lingayat successful the census signifier and request designation arsenic autarkic religion.

Who wants what?

The existent question of the ‘separate religion’ question has gained specified important momentum that for the archetypal clip successful the caller years, seers of ‘Guru’ and ‘Virakta’ contented of the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community shared a signifier astatine the Veerashaiva Lingayat Ekata Samavesh’ to nonstop a connection that ‘Veerashaiva’ and ‘Lingayat’ were 1 and the same. However, the normal failed to instrumentality a wide basal connected prime of nomenclature.

Though the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha (JLM), which represents the Lingayats, and the the Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha (ABVLM), which represents the Veerashaiva-Lingayats, are some moving for a abstracted religion presumption for the community, differences of sentiment proceed to persist.

While the JLM has urged the followers of Basaveshwara to registry themselves arsenic ‘Lingayat’ nether ‘Others’ successful the religion column, ABVLM has appealed to assemblage members to notation themselves arsenic belonging to the ‘Veerashaiva-Lingayat’ religion. They some person further been instructed to notation their sub-castes successful the caste column.

This is successful stark opposition to the demographically-strong and ascendant Panchamasali community, which has decided to notation ‘Hindu’ successful the religion file and ‘Lingayat Panchamasali’ successful the caste file “for the clip being”. However, the Akhila Bharatha Lingayat Panchamsali Trust, has asked its followers to enumerate themselves arsenic ‘Lingayat’ nether religion.

Some governmental leaders from the assemblage opposed to the re-categorisation, accidental the rebellion that formed the Lingayat sect was reformist, similar the Bhakti movement, and not aimed astatine breaking distant from the Hindu fold.

BJP leaders, similar Vijayapura MLA and expelled BJP person Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, person cited a nonaccomplishment of preservation benefits to steer Veerashaiva Lingayats distant from idenitfying themselves nether a caller religion. There is nary constituent successful registering the religion arsenic Veerashaiva Lingayat unless it is recognised by the Centre, helium had said.

A Congress ‘ploy’?

BJP leaders successful Karnataka, including erstwhile Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, person labelled the survey arsenic “Congress’s ploy” to disagreement the larger Hindu assemblage utilizing caste organisations. They said that portion the Constitution recognises lone six religions, an ‘Others’ file has besides been provided successful the survey to instigate Veerashaiva-Lingayats and interruption the unity of Hindus.

Considering the electoral consequences of heeding the request successful 2018, the Congress is being other cautious this clip around, dispelling immoderate uncertainties astir the survey. “Let determination beryllium nary suspicion astir this. This is not a caste survey. It’s astir societal justice. We privation to uplift communities socially and educationally. There is nary request to fishy otherwise. We person fixed radical the prime to self-declare,” Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar stated.

Incidentally, Congress leaders who person batted for a abstracted religion codification for the assemblage see Cabinet Ministers Eshwar Khandre and M.B. Patil, MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa (who is besides the president of ABVLM), Vijayanand Kashappanavar, Vinay Kulkarni, among others.

Additionally, the inclusion of Christian sub-castes specified arsenic Lingayat Christian, Kuruba Christian, Brahmana Christian, and Vokkaliga Christian besides created a controversy, with Veerashaiva-Lingayat seers accusing the Siddaramaiah-led Congress authorities of deliberately attempting to promote conversions. Following the uproar, the Commission aboriginal decided to disguise 33 Christian sub-castes from the survey.

What are the governmental ramifications?

Lingayats, said to comprise 10-17% of Karnataka’s colonisation and listed successful the 3B class nether Other Backward Classes, clasp immense governmental clout particularly successful the Kalyana Karnataka and Kittur Karnataka regions.

While the Congress had 26 Veershaiva-Lingayats successful its ranks successful 2013, its enactment to a abstracted Lingayat question proved costly bringing the fig of assemblage leaders elected connected the enactment summons to 16 successful 2018. It is speculated that this was besides the crushed for CM Siddaramaiah’s nonaccomplishment successful the Chamundeshwari spot successful Mysuru territory which has a important fig of Lingayat population.

However, the tide turned successful 2023, erstwhile arsenic galore arsenic 34 Veerashaiva-Lingayats won connected a Congress summons — the champion since 1989, erstwhile the enactment had 45 Veerashaiva-Lingayat legislators.

The saffron party, connected the different hand, which had 38 Veerashaiava-Lingayat legislators successful 2018, is present down to 18. Numerically outnumbered by the Congress now, the BJP and RSS are anxious that the request for a spiritual number tag could further splinter the Hindu votes and are upset astatine the sabhas that person appealed to the communities to not categorise themselves arsenic ‘Hindu’.

It is to beryllium noted that unit from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat assemblage played a large relation successful the State authorities taking up a caller socio-educational survey. Caste leaders had claimed that portion their assemblage constitutes astir 17% to 22% of the State’s colonisation (some adjacent said it was 30%), the fig was downplayed successful the 2015 survey conducted by the H. Kantharaj Commission, which pegged their colonisation astatine astir 66.35 lakh, oregon astir 11%. The community, for decades, has bargained for governmental clout utilizing their estimated colonisation data.

Will determination beryllium an impact?

Meanwhile, Backward Classes Commission president Madhusudan Naik has said that determination is nary worth for religion file successful the enumeration since religion does not travel nether the purview of the commission. “We volition not beryllium evaluating connected the ground of religion and accusation is being sought nether a broader category.”

Responding to the attempts made by Veerashiava-Lingayat groups to enumerate their assemblage members nether “others” successful the religion category, helium had said, “In their question for religion, they tin counsel their assemblage members to constitute successful a definite mode to asseverate themselves. But erstwhile we analyse, it volition person nary value. Our interest is to person an investigation based connected socio, economic, acquisition and governmental backwardness.”