BENGALURU/KALABURGI: Tensions are mounting in Kalaburgi ahead of the Basavadi Shiv Sharan Hindu Conference, or Hindu Samavesha, scheduled for September 27, with a coalition of Lingayat and progressive organisations announcing a counter-protest and public meeting for Friday, September 25, at 11.30 am.
Speaking to TNIE, former senior IAS officer S.M. Jaamdar, who now heads the Jagathika Lingayat Mahasabha, said pro-Basava groups across the community were mobilising against the upcoming event.
"There have been awareness initiatives to ensure that the Lingayats are not fooled by this right-wing Samavesha," Jaamdar said, adding that certain elements were "deliberately provoking the Lingayat community" through the conference.
"But we are alert — we oppose it, and all pro-Basava groups oppose this. We will hold a massive protest tomorrow," he said.
The Samavesha, which is expected to see the participation of Lingayat mathadhisha Kanneri Swami, has drawn sharp criticism from community leaders who see it as an attempt to co-opt Basava-era philosophy for a different ideological project.
Speaking to TNIE, Meenakshi Bali, head of Pro Basava, explained the strategy of the protest. She said, "We will protest by proceeding in a rally from Kannada Bhavan at 11.30in the morning and proceed to Jagat Circle about 2 kms, where it will culminate in a public symposium.''
Bali said certain groups are distorting the teachings of 12th-century reformer Basavanna, the founding philosopher of the Lingayat faith who had rejected orthodoxy.
She was particularly scathing of the right-wing groups, describing it as "a danger that has spread to India."
Bali further alleged that the organisation was using Kanneri Swami's participation as a means of gaining a foothold in Kalaburagi, and accused the BJP of engineering the Samavesha as an electoral strategy. The sense of a community under siege was echoed by other speakers.
Lingayat thinker Prof RK Hudugi who was ready for the rally, speaking to TNIE, said, "This was not the first such attempt to distort the Lingayat faith; efforts had earlier been made through a book, and then a film, to "sabotage" Lingayat beliefs and identity; we have resisted and emerged stronger.''
