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It was a massive show of strength at Belagavi’s Lingaraj College Grounds, with Lingayats from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra and Kerala gathering to reassert the demand for the status of a separate religion for Lingayatism.
In the last few weeks, the objection to Lingayats being grouped with Veerashaivas and being counted as a sect within Hinduism has been rapidly gathering ground.
One of the primary targets of speakers at the rally was RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has urged talks between Lingayat and Veerashaiva seers and for Lingayats to remain within the Hindu fold.
Many of the speakers asserted that the argument of Hinduism losing out if Lingayats were declared as belonging to a separate religion was a false argument, since it incorrectly assumed that the Lingayats had ever belonged to the Hindu fold.
Siddarama Swami stated that the Lingayat religion was fundamentally different from Hinduism.
While the demand for independent minority religion status for Lingayats is not new, it has recently been gathering steam ever since a rally with over 50,000 Lingayats was organised in Bidar in July.
What has given the movement impetus in the past few weeks is the tacit support it has received from the ruling Congress, which, analysts say, sees an opportunity to break the Lingayat voter base of the BJP ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls.
Unsurprisingly, the BJP has been strongly against the demands of the Lingayat Mutts, with state party President BS Yeddyurappa accusing Siddaramaiah of “trying to divide and rule”.
The growing movement has also come into conflict with leaders of Veerashaiva Mutts such as the Rambhapuri Seer. Followers of these seers accused those demanding separate religion status for Lingayats of “trying to break unity in the guise of religion”.
(This article was originally published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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