BENGALURU: The state government will recommend to the central government to name Bengaluru’s Metro Rail as Basava Metro after social reformer Basavanna, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the valedictory of Basava Samskruti Abhiyana-2025, here on Sunday.
The state government will write to the Centre, recommending the name change to the rail network, which is called Namma Metro now. “If this were entirely a state government project, I would have announced it as ‘Basava Metro’ today itself,” he said.
Speaking in front of over two lakh devotees and more than 300 seers and scholars at the event, Siddaramaiah reaffirmed his lifelong devotion to the 12th-century social reformer, and said his teachings of equality, compassion, and co-existence remain “eternal and ever relevant”.
The event, which also marked the anniversary of the state declaring Basavanna the state’s cultural leader, Siddaramaiah said, “We are all Shudras. Whatever our caste, all Shudras are one. Basavanna opposed the stagnant caste hierarchy and established a new faith based on equality.”
He said, “I have been a follower of Basavanna since my student days at the law college. His ideals shaped my political and personal philosophy. Basava Tatva -- the philosophy of equality, liberty, and fraternity -- is the very soul of the Constitution. Dr BR Ambedkar too had drawn inspiration from Basavanna’s vision of a classless and casteless society.”
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Recalling that he took oath as chief minister on Basava Jayanti, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his
government has worked to realise Basavanna’s dream of equal opportunities for all. “Through guarantees and welfare schemes, we have uplifted the poor of every caste and religion. We made it mandatory to display Basavanna’s portrait in every government office to honour his universal message,” he added.
“No caste is higher than the other. Talent and knowledge do not belong to any one caste. I did not choose to be born in a Kuruba family. To deny someone education because they are a Shudra is a conspiracy against justice,” he argued. He announced that the government has approved the setting up of Vachana University next year.
The event at Bengaluru’s Palace Grounds saw the participation of over 400 religious heads, intellectuals and community leaders.