The Lingayat community in Karnataka has renewed their demand for a separate religious status and adopted a resolution in this regard at an event in Bengaluru.
The fresh demand came nearly seven years after the Centre rejected a proposal by the then Congress-led government in the state and maintained that the community is part of Hinduism.
At the valedictory function of 'Basava Culture Campaign-2025' organised by "Lingayat Matadeeshara Okkoota" on Sunday, the community leaders also called for raising awareness about religious recognition for Lingayats.
"All Lingayats are Indians first. Lingayat religion is the religion of Kannada. Country comes before religion. Always strive for the unity of the country with national consciousness," said one of the resolutions adopted at the function.
It noted that Lingayat is the greatest religion founded by Mahatma Basaveshwara and other Sharanas in the 12th century.
"Geographically, we are all Hindus. Continue to raise awareness for religious recognition so that Lingayats get government benefits and reservation facilities like Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs,” the resolution said.
The event was attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ministers M.B. Patil, Sharan Prakash Patil and Laxmi Hebbalkar.
A Grand Valedictory of the Basava Samskruthi Abhiyaana
— M B Patil (@MBPatil) October 5, 2025
The Basava Samskruthi Abhiyaana, jointly organized by the Federation of Lingayat Mathadhipathis and various Basava-oriented organizations, concluded today with great fervor and devotion. Launched on September 1, the… pic.twitter.com/i5yEUmK53p
The resolution further called for embracing the small, backward sub-castes among the Lingayats, striving for their progress, abandoning all the differences between sub-castes, and developing marital relations between the sub-castes.
It may be noted that it 2018, months before the assembly elections, the then Siddaramaiah government accepted the suggestions of the Nagamohan Das committee to recognise Lingayats as a separate religion and forwarded its recommendations to the Centre.
The state government’s move, however, resulted in the electoral losses of the Congress party with most of its leaders, who were actively involved in the 'separate Lingayat religion' movement, suffering defeat.
The Centre later rejected the state government’s proposal, which had also resulted in a political face-off between the Congress and the BJP. The saffron party had accused Siddaramaiah of trying to divide the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community for electoral gains ahead of the assembly elections.
The Lingayat-Veerashaiva community, which constitutes 17 per cent of the state’s population, traditionally supports the BJP and has stood by its tallest leader and BJP veteran B.S. Yeddyurappa.
The community is also divided over its demand for religious status. While one section led by Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha had demanded separate religion status, asserting that Veerashaiva and Lingayats are the same, the other group wanted it only for Lingayats as they believe that Veerashaiva is one among the seven sects of Shaivas, which is part of Hinduism.
