LINGAYATS - ART AND CULTURE

News: Karnataka reclassifies Vokkaligas, Lingayats to raise their OBC quota share

 

What's in the news?

       The Karnataka Cabinet decided to categorise the two dominant communities in the state, Vokkaligas and Lingayats, as “moderately backward” from the “backward” category in a move that could increase their share in reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

 

Who are Lingayats?

       Lingayats are the followers of the 12th-century social reformer-philosopher poet, Basaveshwara.

       The Lingayats are strict monotheists. They enjoin the worship of only one God, namely, Linga (Shiva).

       The word ‘Linga’ does not mean Linga established in temples, but universal consciousness qualified by the universal energy (Shakti).

       They are spread across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other States.

       The Lingayat scientific and progressive as they were differ from Hindu religion by not believing in birth-based caste system and superstition.

       They criticized Vedic rituals, describing them as an attempt to manage and manipulate Shiva’s creation.

 

Basavanna:

       Basavanna was a 12th-century philosopher, statesman, Kannada poet and a social reformer during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty King Bijjala I in Karnataka, India.

       Basavanna spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas. Basavanna rejected gender or social discrimination, superstitions and rituals.

       He introduced new public institutions such as the Anubhava Mantapa (“hall of spiritual experience”), which welcomed men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to discuss spiritual and mundane questions of life, in open.

       As a leader, he developed and inspired a new devotional movement named Virashaivas, or “ardent, heroic worshippers of Shiva”.

       This movement shared its roots in the Tamil Bhakti movement, particularly the Saiva Nayanars traditions, over the 7th- to 11th-century.

 

Recent issues:

       In March 2018, the Karnataka Government accepted suggestions of the Nagamohan committee and granted minority status to Lingayats. The proposal was then sent to the Centre for the final approval seeking legal recognition for Lingayats as a distinct religion, which was then rejected.

       Present status - Lingayats are currently classified as a Hindu sub-caste called “Veerashaiva Lingayats”.