A Lingayat sub-sect’s quota demand

Why In News?

The Veerashaiva Lingayat community who make up 17% of the state population is currently provided five per cent reservation on the whole under the 3B category of backward classes.

What's their demand?

It is to be included in the 2A category of the backwards classes list and entitle them 15% reservations in government jobs and education.

The inclusion of any community in the Central OBC list will happen after the state government recommends it and the Centre accepts it.

Who are the Lingayats and Veerashaivas?

The Lingayats, a numerically and politically strong community of Karnataka, want to be categorised as a religious group separate from Hindus. Followers of the 12th century social reformer-philosopher-poet Basaveshwara who defied the caste system and Vedic rituals, they argue that the premise of this rebellion was rooted in opposition to the established Hindu order.

Though Lingayats worship Shiva, they say the concept of ‘Ishta Linga’ (personal god) and rules of conduct prescribed by Basaveshwara cannot be equated to the Hindu way of life. On the other hand, those opposed to the re-categorisation, including sections in the community, say the rebellion was reformist, like the Bhakti movement, and not aimed at breaking away from the Hindu fold.

Are Lingayats the same as Veerashaivas?

Though many people believed for a long time that Lingayats and Veerashaivas were one and the same, and that the words were interchangeable, they are very different. Lingayats are followers of Basavanna, the 12th-century social reformer who rebelled against Hindu society and established a new dharma.

Veerashaivism, as the name suggests, is an order of Shaiva faith, which in turn is one of the two major Vedic faiths – the other one being the Vaishnava faith. Both Shaiva and Vaishnava followers constitute the sanatana dharma.

Background:

Demands made by Lingayats Veerashaiva Lingayats have been provided 5% reservation under a special category called 3B.

The sub-sect called the Panchamasali Lingayats have now risen in protest seeking reservations under the category 2A, which currently provides 15% reservations to backward castes.

Basis of the demand

The main stand of the Panchamasali Lingayats is that the community has been denied benefits. The large sections dependent on agriculture are socially, economically, and educationally backward.