Bengaluru: Around 30 prominent seers of Lingayat mutts and prominent leaders of Lingayat community have decided to demand for minority religion status for the community without mentioning the nomenclature of Veerashaiva.
The convention held at Jnana Jyothi Auditorium here on Thursday passed a five-point resolution to press ahead with the demand for minority religion status for the community on the lines of Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. The meet has also taken a decision to ask the seers of Virakta Mutts to step down from their position if they fail to propagate Basaveshwara’s principles.
Later in the day, the seers also presented a joint memorandum to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, demanding that the State government forward it to the Union government. They insisted that the nomenclature should be ‘Lingayat’ and not ‘Lingayat/Veerashaiva’ as demanded by the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha.
The meet, held under the aegis of the newly formed Lingayat Mahasabha, was also attended by political party leaders, scholars and former bureaucrats. The Lingayat Mahasabha, according to its coordinator and former bureaucrat Shivanand Jamdar, is an unofficial and apolitical umbrella organisation of religious heads, intellectuals, and leaders of all political parties belonging to the community.
The meet has decided to adopt a resolution recognising 12th century philosopher and social reformer Basaveshwara as the founder of Lingayat Dharma, and vachanas as the religious texts of the religion. These should not be used in the name of ‘Veerashaiva’, they argued.
It was also resolved to urge the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha to implement the decision taken seven decades ago in Davangere to change its name as Akhila Bharata Lingayat Mahasabha.
Tontadarya Swami of Gadag asserted that those who could not attend the meeting had assured them of acknowledging the resolutions passed. Similar was the response to the query on the absence of some of top political leaders belonging to the community.
“We are confident of convincing those who have reservation with the resolutions,” said Jamdar, and added that seers of the Veerashaiva Pancha Peetha would also be convinced.
Some prominent seers, including those of Suttur Mutt and Siddaganga Mutt, however, were not present at the meeting.
Five resolutions
Declare Lingayat Dharma as an independent religion
Recognise Basaveshwara as the founder of Lingayat Dharma and vachanas as Lingayat religious texts
Seers of Virakta Mutts should propagate Basaveshwara’s principles, or else step down from their position
Lingayat religion, its philosophy and vachanas should not be used under the nomenclature of ‘Veerashaiva’
In keeping with the 1941 resolution of the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, it should be renamed Akhila Bharata Lingayat Mahasabha
