Lingayat seers seek OBC status

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: A meeting of seers of various Veerashaiva/Lingayat mutts held here on Friday unanimously resolved to put pressure on the state government to forward a proposal for the inclusion of all sub-castes of the Veerashaiva/Lingayat community in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The meeting was held at Sri Basaveshwara Sujnana Mantap here in which the seers spoke in detail about the need for inclusion of the sub-castes in the OBC list.

Over 100 seers from various mutts attended the meeting. Sri Chennasiddarama Panditaradhya Swamiji said the purpose of organising the meeting was to put pressure on the union government to include the sub-castes in the OBC list. The Veerashaiva/lingayat religion is profession-based with several sub-castes.

The Chinnappareddy Commission has explained in its report the social, academic, and economic conditions of the sub-castes. The Government of India has included 16 sub-castes in the OBC list but has left out over 70 sub-castes. The state government has already included those subcastes in the OBC list and that must be done even by the Government of India.

This demand had not been fulfilled despite holding agitations continuously for the last many decades. Now at least, the Government of India must include the subcastes in the OBC list and help them progress socially and economically, he said. Dr. Chandrashekara Shivacharya Swamiji said the demand of over 100 seers is the inclusion of sub-castes in the OBC list.

Every state has Veerashaiva/Lingayats and all of them must get the benefit of reservation, he said. Sri Mahalinga Shivacharya Swamiji of the Vibhutipur Mutt said it has been decided that all seers would fight for this cause under a single banner till the Government of India concede their demand.