Panel to decide on religion tag for Lingayat

DHNS
December 23, 2017

Bengaluru, Dec 23: A seven-member expert committee has been constituted to look into demands for a minority religion tag for the Lingayat and Veerashaiva faiths, even as all three major political parties - the Congress, the BJP and the JD(S) - tread cautiously on the sensitive issue ahead of the Assembly elections.

Retired High Court Justice H N Nagmohan Das will head the committee that has been formed by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission. The committee, sources said, has been given four weeks to examine demands made by various religious groups in this regard and submit a report.

This comes days after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asked the minorities commission to look into demands from various political and religious leaders who have sought minority religion status in the Lingayat and Veerashaiva faiths. This is also an indication that the government is in a hurry to draw curtains on this issue, which is considered a political hot potato with polls round the corner.

According to sources, the committee comprises Kannada Development Authority chairman S G Siddaramaiah; Jawaharlal Nehru University Kannada Language chair Purushothama Bilimale; University of Mysore political science professor Muzaffar Assadi; former backward classes commission chairman C S Dwarakanath; journalist Sarjoo Katkar and litterateur Ramakrishna Marathe.

The Veerashaiva and Lingayat camps, comprising leaders from the Congress, have been at loggerheads over the issue. The Veerashaiva group comprises veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, his son and Horticulture Minister S S Mallikarjun and Municipalities Minister Eshwar B Khandre. They hold that Veerashaiva and Lingayat are the same and that the separate religion should be christened Veerashaiva-Lingayat. Veerashaivas say their religion predates 12th-century reformer Basavanna, revered as the founder of the Lingayat faith. Veerashaivas revere a pantheon of holy men.

The Lingayat camp, led by Water Resources Minister M B Patil, Mines and Geology Minister Vinay Kulkarni and Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy, argues that Veerashaiva and Lingayat are radically different, and the religion must be called Lingayat. This group says it goes by the ideals of Basavanna.

BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa said his party will side with the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, whereas JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda has accused the ruling Congress of creating a divide among Veerashaivas and Lingayats.

Comments

AK Shetty
 - 
Saturday, 23 Dec 2017

Shows how much religion screwed up modern Indians due to reservation menace. Time to abolish religion based, caste based reservation. Even Ramakrishna mutt tried to call itself a religion few decades ago (mainly for tax purpose I think)

Anonymous
 - 
Saturday, 23 Dec 2017

I think this demand as per constitution is correct . If anybody has reservation , then they should stash their personal opinions in their bags, and check laws first before making looser opinions. why not you idiots then oppose Jain , and Sikhs and Buddhists why to give biased opinions to Lingayats. Are you not biased? why not to strip off all minority status of Christian , Muslims, Jain and Sikhs then ? Correct laws and constitutions first then talk, and stop rubbish
I see lot of government land grab by "Jains" in name of educational institute in all over Karnataka ..anybody asked why they got that as minority benefits ..no ..why 2% percent people of state need 5% land of state to be grabbed ? this is OK and then if other people want to do in their way ...why is this ado ...

Mohan
 - 
Saturday, 23 Dec 2017

Yeah nice time to hit it.elections are just round the corner!!

Congi
 - 
Saturday, 23 Dec 2017

Vatican's Breaking-India mission smelling of success.

Chandan
 - 
Saturday, 23 Dec 2017

It's a internal matter of Kannadigas.

Ganesh
 - 
Saturday, 23 Dec 2017

Lingayat row should end conclude soon, otherwise it may affect in election also

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News Network
March 21,2020

Hubbali, Mar 21: South Western Railway suspended an employee on Thursday, for allegedly hiding her son's travel history who returned from Spain. The employee's son has now been kept under isolation.

Earlier it was reported that the man had a travel history of Italy- among the worst affected countries by Coronavirus.

He was working in Germany and had taken a flight from Spain to return to India.

In an order issued by General Manager of South Western Railway, the employee was further asked to leave the headquarter without obtaining permission from the competent authority.

The suspended Railway Officer is posted in Bengaluru.
According to the official data, the total number of Covid-19 cases in India has risen to 206, according to ICMR. Timely diagnosis and isolation have been considered vital to check the spread of the deadly disease.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Bengaluru, July 17: The government of Karnataka has decided to issue caste and income certificates to Brahmins in the state to reduce the socio-economic inequality faced by the community.

“A notification has been issued to tehsildars in all 30 districts to issue caste and income certificates to Brahmins so that they can also benefit from the government schemes and scholarships,” a Revenue Department official told said.

The notification comes a month after the Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board on June 10 appealed to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to issue the certificates to the traditionally dominant community, which accounts for 3 per cent of the 7 crore state population.

“Though Brahmins are in ‘minority’ in terms of their population across the state, they need caste and income certificates to benefit from the welfare schemes meant for the economic weaker sections such as SC, ST and OBC groups,” the official said.

The board was set up in March 2019 as a state-run company with Rs 5 crore authorised capital and Rs 5 crore equity and is registered with the Registrar of Companies.

The notification was issued to the local bodies and taluk offices after several members of the community complained to state Revenue Minister R. Ashoka that they were unable to benefit from the welfare schemes in the absence of the certificates.

The certificates will also help students from the community to avail scholarships for higher studies from the state-funded board if their gross annual family income is less than Rs 8 lakh per year.

The board has also urged the state government to implement the 10 per cent quota for its community members under the economically weaker sections, as applicable for Central government jobs and admissions to central institutions.

Noting that every community has people who are forward and backward economically for various reasons, including historical, the official said the board would be empowered to serve the Brahmins.

“The board will provide interest-free loans to the financially weaker sections of the community,” said its Chairman H.S. Sachidananda Murthy.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Demanding the setting up of a House Committee to probe the Mangaluru violence, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday released multiple videos of the clashes that broke out during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest that claimed two lives on December 19.

Janata Dal-Secular leader further demanded suspension of Police Commissioner PS Harsha and insisted that House Committee consisting of members of all the parties should be formed to probe into Mangaluru violence and said that magisterial inquiry ordered by the state government cannot be trusted.

"Constitute a House committee and produce the fact. The main culprit is the commissioner of Mangaluru, remove the officer as he is the main culprit. I am going to take this issue on the floor of the House." Kumaraswamy said during a press conference here.

Two people were killed in Mangaluru in the alleged police firing after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act turned violent.

The Act grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31, 2014.

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