VOKKALIGAS AND LINGAYATS - ART AND CULTURE
News: Vokkaligas
set deadline for increasing reservation
What's in the news?
● The
BJP, which has been wooing the Vokkaliga community for a crucial foothold in
the electoral politics in the Old Mysore region, is in a spot of bother.
● Already
under pressure from Lingayat groups — its traditional support base — over the
reservation issue, the BJP government now faces a deadline of January 23, 2023,
to consider an increase in quota for Vokkaligas from the current 4% to 12% in
the OBC reservation matrix.
Vokkaligas:
● Vokkaliga
is a community of closely-related castes. They are majorly present in the state of Karnataka.
● They
are also presented in the state of Tamilnadu in minor numbers.
● They
have historical, political and demographic dominance in the old Mysore region.
● It
is even believed that the Rashtrakutas
and Western Gangas were of Vokkaliga origin.
● Vokkaligas
commonly carry names such as Gowda, Hegdeand
● Before
the 20th century Vokkaligas were the landed gentry and agricultural caste of
Karnataka.
● They,
along with the Lingayats, owned most of the cultivated land in the state.
Related news:
● PM
unveiled a 108-feet tall bronze statue of ‘Nadaprabhu’
Kempegowda in Bengaluru, credited to be the city’s founder.
Who was Nadaprabhu Kempegowda?
● Nadaprabhu
Kempegowda, a 16th century chieftain of
the Vijayanagara empire, is credited as the founder of Bengaluru.
● It
is said that he conceived the idea of a new city while hunting with his
minister, and later marked its territory by erecting towers in four corners of
the proposed city.
● Kempegowda
is also known to have developed around 1,000
lakes in the city to cater to drinking and agricultural needs.
● He
was from the dominant agricultural Vokkaliga community in south Karnataka.
Political motives behind:
● Kempegowda
is an iconic figure among Karnataka’s second most dominant Vokkaliga community
after Lingayats.
● Political
parties plan to woo the Vokkaliga community by honoring Kempegowda.
● The
statue would be known as the ‘Statue of
Prosperity’.
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”.