Living mostly in North Karnataka, Lingayats constitute 17% of state population. Since their vote is seen as decisive in 110 of the 224 Assembly seats, Lingayats are considered politically powerful.
Breaking News : After Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday granted a separate religious status to the Lingayat community, the Congress party rubbished the claims that the decision was a “political move”.
The clarification came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the Opposition camp in the state, accused the Congress of striving to garner the votes of Lingayats, a dominant community in the state, ahead of the Assembly elections likely in April-May.
The suggestion, which has been accepted under section 2D of the state Minorities Commission Act, has been sent to the Centre for its final approval.
The Congress even dared BJP President Amit Shah and the party’s Karnataka chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyuruppa to clarify their position on Lingayats. “It is inappropriate to link the decision of the Karnataka government vis-a-vis declaration of Lingayat Samaj as a minority community to the political processes,” said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Hours after the Karnataka government accepted the suggestions of the Nagamohan Das committee yesterday to form a separate religion status for the Lingayat community, clashes broke out between the followers of Lingayat and Veerashaiva communities in Kalaburagi – when the former were celebrating the decision and the latter protesting the same.
Who are Lingayats ?
The Lingayats, who belong to the Other Backward Classes in Karnataka, are the worshippers of Lord Shiva and have distanced themselves from traditional Hinduism, especially from the Vedic version of it and the caste system. Ironically, in spite of its origin among the followers of the 12th-century social reformer Basavanna, the Lingayat community is now recognised as a caste.
Living mostly in North Karnataka, the Lingayats are believed to constitute 17 per cent of the population. Since their vote is widely acknowledged to be decisive in 110 of the 224 Assembly constituencies, Lingayats are considered politically powerful.
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