Veerashaivas' campaign gaining momentum

By A.Jayaram

BANGALORE, DEC. 10. The movement launched by the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha that the Veerashaivas or Lingayats are non- Hindus and that they should be listed separately in the Census operations has gained momentum.

The massive rally organised by the mahasabha at the Malleswaram Pavilion ground here on Saturday is proof enough that large sections of Lingayats consider themselves as a religious minority, distinct from Hinduism.

The rally and the procession taken out from the Jayadeva Hostel on Seshadri Road were part of the ``Public Awareness Programme'' launched by the mahasabha in various parts of the State. The programme is aimed at educating Lingayats in the State and elsewhere about the need to declare themselves as such and not Hindus when the Census enumerators visit their houses.

Although the cry that the Lingayats are non-Hindus is by no means a recent one, it is for the first time such rallies, processions and awareness programmes are being held. Such calls to members of the community had been given when the late J.B.Mallaradhya and the late I.M.Magdum had headed the State Veerashaiva Mahasabha. Mallaradhya, who became a prominent politician after his retirement from the IAS, had laid claim to the non-Hindu tag in the mid-Seventies at a time when the Devaraj Urs government had appointed the First Karnataka Backward Class Commission, headed by Mr. L.G.Havanur.

What was significant about Saturday's rally was the presence of leading Lingayat mathadipathis, one of the ministers,

politicians cutting across party lines and leaders from various walks of life. The mathadipathis included Sri Shivakumara Swamiji of Sri Siddaganga Math, who has a large following, and the Swamiji of Sri Belimath, known for his erudition. The lone minister present was Ms. Rani Satish (Kannada and Culture). The S.M.Krishna Government has five other Lingayat ministers.

Interestingly two BJP leaders, Mr. Chandrakanth Bellad, MLA, and Ms. Pramila Nesargi, a lawyer and former MLA, attended the rally which went counter to the "all Indians are Hindus" dictum of the party hardliners. Mr. Bellad has been associating himself with the movement launched by the mahasabha from the beginning.

While Mr. Bheemanna Khandre, President of the Mahasabha, belongs to the Congress(I), Mr. Vishwanatha Reddy Mudnal, its Vice- President, belongs to the Janata Dal (United).

The rally decided to ``excommunicate'' two scholars and well- known writers in Kannada, Dr. M.Chidananda Murthy and Dr. G.S.Shivarudrappa, who maintain that the Lingayats are part of Hinduism. In fact, Dr. Murthy, who is the Working President of Kannada Shakti Kendra and author of the book on Basaveshwara (in English) brought out by the National Book Trust, staged a satyagraha in front of the statue of Basaveshwara opposing the rally. Another literary figure, Prof. B.Veerabhadraiah, member of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy, has also opposed the religious minority claim of the mahasabha. They have decried the identification of Hinduism with Brahminism.

Dr. Chidananda Murthy told The Hindu that in the current Census even those who declared themselves as Lingayats or Veerashaivas would be regarded as Hindus as the Government of India and various laws did not consider the members of the community as a religious minority as was the case with Sikhs, Buddhists or Jains. However, the population of Lingayats would be mentioned separately alongside those of Arya Samajists and a few others considered as subgroups of Hinduism in the final Census figures.

In the past, similar calls had created confusion as a large section of Lingayats declared themselves Hindus. It actually led to underestimation of the population of Lingayats in the country.

Those supporting the stand that the Lingayats are not part of Hinduism rely on the wording of legislation such as the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act and the Hindu Adoption Act which say: "This Act applies to a Hindu by religion... including Veerashaiva, a Lingayat". They also noted that in pre- Independence days, the Privy Council had ruled in an appeal against a judgment of the Bombay High Court that there was basis for difference of opinion on Lingayats being part of Hinduism. The Supreme Court had held out on what constituted a religion in cases such as Shirur Math and Mittal which endorsed the view that Lingayats were non-Hindus.

However, the question being asked is as to how the Lingayats will benefit from declaring themselves as a religious minority. They will become eligible for rights to open and manage educational institutions given by the Constitution to religious and linguistic minorities. The Lingayat maths in Karnataka are running a large number of educational institutions, many of them receiving aid from the Government, it is noted.

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