Lingayat religion issue a closed chapter, says Sharan Patil

DHNS

September 16, 2017

Bengaluru, Sept 16: Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil on Friday said the separate Lingayat religion issue was “a closed chapter” as he chose to draw the curtains over the controversy that has raged on for several weeks now.

“The separate religion issue - whether it has to be Lingayat or Veerashaiva-Lingayat - is a closed chapter now. Members of the community will now come together and take a decision,” Dr Patil told reporters after a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“An expert committee will be formed to take the matter forward,” he said, clearly indicating his retreat.

Dr Patil also said the row involving Water Resources Minister M B Patil and the Siddaganga Mutt seer Shivakumara Swami had been settled. “(M B Patil) has already met the pontiff to clear the air on the confusion,” he said.

The demand for a separate religion tag for the Lingayat faith had divided the ruling Congress into two groups. M B Patil belonged to the group that demanded a separate religion called Lingayat. The group also included Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy. Another group, which demanded a religion named Veerashaiva-Lingayat, comprised veteran leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, his son and Horticulture Minister S S Mallikarjun and Municipal Administration Minister Eshwar B Khandre.

Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, meanwhile, said the idea of a separate Lingayat religion was “an illusion” and critiqued the way the campaign was headed. “If you want a religion as envisioned by Basavanna, you must hit the streets to demand abolition of the caste system. Instead, it will simply get restricted to speeches,” he told reporters.

'No Hindu religion'

Asked why his office did not sport a Basavanna portrait as mandated, Thimmappa replied: “I’m not into that madness. I’ve been involved in the socialist movement for the past five decades.”

Thimmappa went on to question the very existence of the Hindu religion. “There are only castes in India. People are leading lives based on caste beliefs. Who founded Hindu religion? What is the basis to call it a religion? Everybody is talking about Hindu unity, but there’s no such thing,” he said.

Comments

Everything can be solved through proper meeting of two sides. At the same time should avoid unwanted statements. Media will catch those things and sensationalise the issue

Seperate Ligayat religion is good. divisions helps to improve and grow the specific community

Why seperate religion. People should unite and make only one

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RTI applicants asked to furnish citizenship proof amid anti-NRC protests

Agencies

February 4,2020

Lucknow, Feb 4: Even as anti-NRC protests continue to rage across the country, the Lucknow University has queered the pitch by demanding citizenship proof from RTI applicants.

The Lucknow University (LU) refused to provide the information sought by the people who filed the Right to Information (RTI) unless they furnished the proof that they were Indian citizens.

Alok Chantia, one of the RTI applicants who was refused information by the varsity, said that he had lodged a complaint with the vice-chancellor of the varsity but even then he could not get the desired information.

"It is shocking how the university has twisted the RTI law as per its whims and fancy. It does not have any authority to do so," said the RTI applicant.

Chantia, also a faculty member at a degree college here, had sought details of appointment of teachers for self-financed courses and their pay scale.

"It is possible that some applicants who may not be familiar with the provisions of the RTI, may have furnished proof of their citizenship to the varsity to get the information but that cannot become a rule," he pointed out.

When contacted, university officials admitted that such a practice had been going on in the varsity for the past few years.

"This practice started during the tenure of the former vice-chancellor S.P. Singh and still continues," said a senior varsity official.

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Mangaluru | Safety norms upheld as Muslims offer Juma prayers in mosques after 11 weeks

coastaldigest.com news network

June 12,2020

Mangaluru, June 12: Juma prayers were held in dozens of mosques across coastal district of Dakshina Kannada including the city of Mangaluru for the first time in nearly three months upholding all the safety norms including physical distancing.

For the first time in the recent history of Mangaluru, juma prayers were stalled in all the mosques for 11 consecutive weeks as part of nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

While many mosques were reopened for the congregational prayers in the region on June 8 (Monday) after receiving approval from the government, many others are yet to be opened as Muslim religious leaders are taking additional precautionary measures to prevent the spread of covid-19 apart from following all the guidelines issued by the government.

“Around 400 people participated in the Juma prayer at Zeenat Bakhsh Juma Masjid. All the safety guidelines were followed. Sadaqatul Nadwi delivered the sermon and led the prayers,” S M Rasheed Haji, executive member of the mosque committee told coastaldigest.com.

“As per the guidelines, devotees performed Wudu (ablution) at their homes and also carried their own musalla (prayer mat) to the mosque,” said a Jalaluddin, a cleric who offered Juma prayers in Ullal.

The guidelines issued by the government to the mosques also include disinfecting the premises at regular intervals, maintaining physical distance, wearing masks and finishing prayers in “minimum permissible time”.