Centre denies minority religion status for Lingayats
BENGALURU: The Central Government has rejected the Karnataka Government’s proposal seeking a separate minority religion status for the Lingayat community. The decision was informed to the State government through a communication dated November 13 after taking into consideration the views of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Commission for Minorities.
With this, the Union Government reiterated its stand that was taken in 2013 on a similar proposal.This communication was placed before a division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice S Sujatha of the High Court on Monday by Additional Solicitor General Prabhuling K Navadgi.
The Centre gave two reasons for rejecting the proposal. “The demand was considered earlier also and it was observed that Lingayat has always been classified under Hindus ever since the 1871 census, the first official census in India and that Lingayat is considered as a religious sect of Hindus, and if they are treated as a separate religion by providing separate code other than Hindu, all members of the Scheduled Caste professing the said religion would lose their status as SC along with the consequential benefits available to them as SC,” the centre stated.
“NCM agrees with views of the MHA. Taking into account the views of MHA and NCM, it may not be possible for the Ministry to accede the request of Government of Karnataka,” the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, said in its communication sent to the Secretary, Minority Welfare, Haj and Waqf Department, Karnataka.
The court also disposed of a batch of public interest litigations, saying the petitions did not survive for consideration. The petitioners had challenged the validity of constituting a panel headed by Justice Nagamohan Das, former judge of High Court, by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission (KSMC) after demand for separate religious status for Lingayats/Veerashaivas was referred to it by the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The state government had referred the matter to KSMC, which constituted a panel of experts on December 22, 2017 to look into the same. Shanbhog and others challenged the constitution of the panel on the ground that the Commission was formed by the State only to look after the welfare of the minority communities and hence it has no power to constitute the panel. The state had contended that it has the power to consider the demand for minority status for a community and also to recognise it as a minority under the Karnataka State Minorities Commission Act.
The court had then passed an interim order that the constitution of the panel is subject to the result of these petitions. The panel recommended to the state to accord the religious minority status. The Karnataka Govt issued notification recommending minority status on March 22, 2018. It referred the matter to the Union government for consideration on March 23, 2018. The demand to accord minority religion status to the Lingayats was a major issue during the assembly elections earlier this year. Many Congress ministers were part of this campaign, while the BJP had opposed the move.
Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha, the forum pushing for a separate religion tag, said it would fight against the Centre’s decision. Rejecting the Centre’s quoting of the 1871 census to club Lingayats under ‘Hindu’ category, National Secretary General of the forum and former IAS officer, S M Jaamdar, said, “The census clearly says Lingayat is a separate religion and not a caste within the Hindu religion.”
He also disagreed with the Centre’s contention that SCs would lose benefits if Lingayats are accorded religious status. “If benefits were given to SCs under Sikhism and Buddhism, why can’t it be applied to Lingayats?,” he said.
Lingayats to fight against Centre’s decision
Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha, the forum demanding a separate religion tag for Lingayats, will write to the Union Home Ministry to reconsider its decision, after which legal action will be initiated, said its National Secretary General, S M Jaamdar. Rejecting the Centre’s quoting of the 1871 census, Jaamdar said, “The census itself deems Lingayats as a separate religion along with Jains. Whoever referred to the census and put it across to Central Government hasn’t read it.”