In a move that is expected to have a huge impact on the upcoming assembly elections in Karnaraka, the Siddaramaiah government decided on Monday to declare Lingayats as a religious minority + and include the Veerashaivas who follow Basavanna as a group within the community. According to analysts, the move could make or mar the electoral prospects of the ruling Congress.
Opinion
21/03/2018
1179.
SUB : In a move that is expected to have a huge impact on the upcoming assembly elections in Karnaraka, the Siddaramaiah government decided on Monday to declare Lingayats as a religious minority + and include the Veerashaivas who follow Basavanna as a group within the community.
According to analysts, the move could make or mar the electoral prospects of the ruling Congress.
HIGHLIGHTS
The move could make or mar the electoral prospects of the ruling Congress
The Lingayat community can impact 100 seats in the 224-member assembly
Minority religion status for Lingayats: How the decision can impact Karnataka elections?
NOTE :-
How the Lingayats can influence the Karnataka poll outcome :
* The Lingayats have an influence on nearly 100 seats in the 224-member assembly.
* The Lingayat community, which makes up 17% of the state’s population and is the largest chunk, traditionally supports the BJP, especially in northern Karnataka.
* The latest move appears to be a bid by Congress to split BJP’s Lingayat vote base. The Congress hopes the move will get them support from the Lingayat community.
* The Congress also hopes its decision to lob the ball into the Centre’s court will leave the BJP in a bind. “Now, the onus is on the Centre. If it doesn’t give minority status to the community, it will definitely antagonize it. If it does, then we will claim the credit,” a leader said.
* In addition, the inclusion of Veerashaiva-Lingayats in the recommendation has doused discontent among Veerashaivas to a large extent, which would work in favour of the Congress.
On the ground though, Lingayats feel it is gimmick by the Congress before the polls, which means the move could backfire.
* Meanwhile, to garner support and keep the issue alive till the elections, Lingayat ministers in the state government have planned a huge rally in Bengaluru where they plan to felicitate chief minister Siddaramaiah for according the community religious minority status.
BJP's stance
* The BJP has expressed its opposition to the decision. According to the party declaring Lingayats as a religious minority would split society further and introduce more cleavages in the socio-economic fabric.
* BJP leaders are of the view that the Siddaramaiah government's decision may not translate into votes for the Congress. Though the decision may have pleased the Lingayats, however its benefits will take time to reach the community, according to the BJP.
* The BJP has accused the Karnataka CM of "playing with fire" for vote bank politics.
Lingayat-protestsPeople belonging to Veershaiva community protesting against the decision (PTI Photo)
Who are Lingayats :
* Lingayats are followers of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna and his vachana (verses) philosophy. Their beliefs, practices and faith are different. Veerashaivas worship Lord Shiva, the one mentioned in Hindu mythology. However, the Shiva that Basavanna referred to in his vachanas (verses) is not the Hindu god Shiva but the ishtalinga (formless God), which people of the community wear around their neck.
* BJP state president B S Yeddyuprappa and BJP leader Jagadish Shettar are notable political leaders from the Lingayat community.
Who are Veerashaivas :
* Veerashaivas are a sub-sect of Lingayats and ardent followers of Lord Shiva. They preceded Basavanna, the founder of Lingayatism. Veerashaivism has its roots in the Vedas and Agamas, and Veerashaivas do not worship any god other than Shiva
* They are spread across Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
* All Veerashaiva sects follow the ‘Pancha Peeta’ or five mutts -- Kashi mutt, Rameswaram mutt, Ujjaini mutt, Rambhapura mutt and Srishaila mutt, the core holy places for the community.
* There are 92 sub-castes among Lingayats and Veerashaivas are one among them.
Lingayat population in India-Infographic-TOI (1)Lingayats are predominantly in Karnakata
Veershaivas’ opposition
* Veerashaiva seers, led by the panchacharyas (five powerful seers) had opposed granting religious minority status to Lingayats alone. Some threatened to campaign against Congress in the assembly polls.
* While Lingayats were demanding recognition as a separate religion and not be identified as Hindus, Veerashaivas had opposed it on the ground that Veerashaivas and Lingayats are one and the same.
* To pacify this section, the cabinet decided to include Veerashaiva-Lingayats as a group within the Lingayat community. The government made it clear the Veerashaivas are a sub-sect of Lingayats.
Who is Basavanna?
Basavanna was a 12th-century social reformer. The revolution that Basavanna led came years after the Buddha. It was Basavanna and his contemporary Sharanas who launched a very strong spiritual, social and religious rebellion against Brahminical hegemony. Basavanna had declared that “work is worship”. He gave women equal status in his movement through the vachanas (verses). In order to take the social movement closer to the people, Basavanna and all the other Sharanas voiced their concerns in simple Kannada vachanas so that even lay people could comprehend them.
Why do Lingayats want a separate identity :
Lingayats have been revolting against oppression and discrimination by the Veerashaivas, who are politically and economically a dominant group within the community. Lingayats allege that Veerashaivas are attempting to destroy the revolutionary faith founded by Basavanna by portraying Lingayatism and Veerashaivism as the same. Moreover, they feel the Veerashaivas are not giving their guru his due, as he had rejected caste hierarchy and Vedic rituals.
How will the community benefit
* For the moment, there will not be any change in reservation for education and jobs since the state government has left it to the Centre to take a decision on the issue.
* Sources said Lingayats will continue to enjoy 15 per cent reservation under categories 2A and 3B. Any increase in quota for Lingayats will be decided only after the Centre accords minority status to them, and considers the impact of this on existing quotas.
* If notified as a religious minority, Lingayats will get additional benefits in education and employment on par with minorities. Educational institutions run by minorities get certain exemptions, which they will be eligible for, as a majority of educational institutions in North Karnataka are run by Lingayats.
* They will able to avail benefits under section 25 of the Constitution. These include freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.
* They will also get benefits under section 28, which includes freedom in terms of attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions.
* Section 29, which includes protection of interests of minorities, and section 30, which includes the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, will also be applicable.
What next :
After accepting the recommendation of the seven-member panel headed by retired judge Justice Nagamohan Das to grant religious minority status to “Lingayats and Veerashaiva-Lingayats (believers of Basava philosophy)” the Cabinet will ratify an official notification to this effect at its next meeting, which could be as early as the following week.
It will then recommend to the Centre that the community be granted religious minority status. Essentially it will be up to the Centre to decide to accept the state government’s recommendation.
Who said what :
Though it looks like a carefully drawn strategy of the Congress, I don’t think it will stand to gain much in terms of electoral benefits. In fact, the party might lose some votes as there is a feeling among common voters among Lingayats that the Siddaramaiah government has divided them -
Harish Ramaswamy, Expert :
Recommendation has been made for granting independent religious minority status to people who follow and believe in Bavasanna’s philosophies. We hope the Centre will accept and grant the status to the community - Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
CM Siddaramaiah, by dividing the religion, is playing divisive politics.
By seeking Justice Nagamohan Das’ report in a hurry and planning to send it to the Centre, the government had ignored the suggestion of pontiffs and seers of Lingayat mutts. Instead of resolving the problems of the people, the decision to divide people on religious lines is not right. the government will repent its decision in the coming days - HD Kumaraswamy, JD(U) State President
We have taken a stand that the BJP will abide by the decision taken by the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha - B S Yeddyurappa, BJP State President
We accept the decision of the cabinet meeting headed by CM Siddaramaiah. He has made the decision to do justice to borth Veerashaivas and Lingayats and this is acceptable to us - Shamanur Shivashankarappa, Akhila BHarata Veerashaiva Mahasabha.
NOTES : Continued ...
1.
Siddaramaiah is playing BJP's game to retain Karnataka CM seat :
2.
His current moves are everything the Congress had never been known for and the saffron party had taken pride in.
3.
Often ridiculed as "Niddaramaiah", Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is seen to have shaken off lethargy and worked out his own counter-strategy to every move of the BJP in the run-up to the state elections in early 2018.
4.
The Karnataka elections will be eagerly watched, as it is the only big state held by the Congress and a win here for BJP would pave the way for its grand entry into the South. And Siddaramaiah's current moves are everything the Congress had never been known for and BJP had taken pride in.
5.
He is, with ease, playing the BJP’s tactics against it - raising sub-nationalist fervour, identity politics and championing the Kannada cause.
6.
BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa, who has been tasked with wresting Karnataka from the Congress, has been touring the state extensively. Well supported by the extensive network of the Sangh Parivar, BJP’s machinery had been in full swing, before being caught off-guard by Siddaramaiah’s own class of identity politics.
7.
If experts are to be believed, Siddaramaiah is rousing Kannada pride to make this election a Kannada vs Hindutva poll. He is countering every move of the BJP in a calculated manner.
Kannada pride :
8.
Siddaramaiah's proactive approach to champion identity issues has caught BJP napping. Consider the moves of making Kannada mandatory in schools, singing of the official state anthem compulsory and the resistance to signboards in Hindi in Bangalore Metro and even the state flag controversy - Siddaramaiah has played BJP’s "championing the identity" moves.
9.
These are the moves usually championed by the BJP - and with his proactive approach, he seems to have out-smarted his rivals (at least for now). For political watchers, the state unit of the Congress has reshaped itself as a regional unit, stirring emotive waters, flagging identities and making every possible move to give a cult status to their leader.
10.
Siddaramaiah stirred controversy by making a move for a separate Kannada flag, an old controversy which can likely become central to the forthcoming elections. This is an emotive issue, symbolising everything Kannada; the language, culture and Kannada pride.
11.
Though the BJP has questioned the move, it hasn’t been able to up its campaign against it. The issue could sweep across the state, especially when anti-north sentiment in the state has spiked and the Congress has definitely decided to capitalise on the issue in the run-up to the elections. He might be flogging a dead horse with his move, but Siddaramaiah is surely setting the narrative for the elections.
Taking the battle to Yeddyurappa’s grounds :
12.
Yeddyurappa has a loyal Lingayat voter base to build his electoral prospects on. With a numerical strength of almost 18 per cent of the voter base, this strong and impenetrable base has helped the BJP reap huge electoral benefits, especially in north Karnataka.
13.
Siddaramaiah hasn’t backed off from taking the fight to Yeddyurappa’s grounds. In a recent convention of Lingayats, he assured them he would convey to the Centre their demand to be classified as a separate religion.
14.
Yeddyurappa has always asserted that the Lingayats remain in the Hindu fold, while a faction of Lingayats believe that theirs is an off-shoot of Hinduism and be deemed a separate religion just like Buddhism.
15.
Even a slight fissure in the Lingayat base can turn tables in favour of the Congress. However, many believe this move could prove suicidal for the Congress, if the BJP succeeds in portraying Congress as anti-Hindu and designing this sinister move to break Lingayat unity.
16.
Siddaramaiah surely knows the risks and must have well weighed the benefits to electoral costs he might have to incur. But assuming that electoral battles in Karnataka have been close and Congress and BJP enjoy almost the same size of loyal voter base, this "show me the pie" brand of politics as practised, could well set the cat among the pigeons and a possible break into the Lingayat vote-bank might swing the narrative in favour of the Congress.
17.
It might seem a tough task, given the community's anguish with the Congress after sacking of powerful Lingayat leader Veerendra Patil as chief minister by then Congress chief Rajiv Gandhi, in October 1990; but if not anything, this strategy could make the BJP go on the defensive about securing its own vote bank and lose some time before consolidating other vote bases.
The caste equation :
18.
Belonging to the backward Kuruba caste, Siddaramaiah, has positioned himself as the unchallenged leader of the AHINDA formation (a grouping of minorities, backwards classes and Dalits) and invested enough energy to form a rainbow coalition of backward castes.
19
His attempt to consolidate this loose group was also seen in increased allocations for backward classes in the 2017-18 budget. At the three-day Ambedkar international conference titled "Quest for Equity", Siddaramaiah recalled instances of discrimination he faced as a child and said, “Only those who have faced discrimination can understand it, get angry about it, and, hence, have the will to change it.”
20.
In the layer within layer politics of Karnataka, caste issues play out in a complicated manner. A tactical understanding with the JD (S) could get the Congress a fraction of Vokkalinga votes, and with the much pampered Ahinda votes in its kitty and a break in the Lingayat vote, Siddaramaiah may yield a hard blow to the BJP.
21.
With Dalit population estimated at 23 per cent, Kurubas 8 per cent and Muslims making up 10 per cent, the Ahinda vote base alone could propel Siddaramaiah back to the power seat. The high command's decision to send Mallikarjuna Kharge (a Dalit leader) back to the state could prove an added advantage to Siddaramaiah.
22.
In spite of making up the bulk of the vote-base, Karnataka politics has over the years centred around two dominant castes of the Lingayats and Vokkalingas, constituting almost one-third of the state population and well nurtured over years by the BJP and JD (S).
23.
Siddaramaiah, and Congress, seem to have realised that to remain in power, they need to consolidate the loose faction of backward classes and give Karnataka politics a backward class tryst, all while making tacit attempts to get support of the break-away factions of dominant castes.
24.
While the state Congress seems upbeat by the smart moves of Siddaramaiah in setting the political narrative for the forthcoming elections and taking focus away from his lethargic yet non-controversial four-year stint and the widespread drought in north Karnataka, it will be increasingly prudent to make state elections more local.
25.
Though he has had an early start, the patronage system might not necessarily bring success and it is seen from previous state elections that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal potentially stretches across electoral groups.
26.
Siddaramaiah might, as of now, be using the political script mastered by the BJP, but only time will tell if he can succeed in ensuring that elections are fought on local factors, veneered with sub-nationalist fervour, and turned into a personality combat.
OPINION :-
1. Selfish mad party /election politics on caste, very very dangerous trend, should be stopped;
2. Bharatiya caste system is EVIL, and this divides the people in various denominations of high / low combinations, do not benefit the counrty;
3. Citizens of Bharatham must realise the danger, and give-up / away the caste system, and get ready to accept Indian Identity;
4. Politicians and political parties take caste to their advantages, people will suffer;
5. Religion and caste divide people and unity is lost in no time;
6. We are One Nation, One Citizens that is Bharatiya, no place for religion and caste or any other stupid bits, in the public life; THROW AWAY ALL REGIONAL PRIDE, LANGUAGE PRIDE, etc, KEEP ONE PRIDE BHARATIYA;
7. All Citizens have one SANATANA DHARMAM, WHICH IS THE BASE FOR BHARATHAM FROM ANCIENT TIMES, NO QUESTION ABOUT IT;
8. Each Citizen has his Dharmam according to status, position, karmam,and added to the values;
9. This ensure peace and hormony in the Nation, in politics, and in every departments of life;
10. This make us / our CITIZENS LIVING TOGETHER SAFE AND HAPPY WITH HIGH SENSE OF UNITY BY FOLLOWING VALUES AND DHARMA-S
THANK YOU FOR READING
JAIHIND
VANDEMATHARAM
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