Karnataka intellectuals in battle over ‘appropriation’ of Basavanna. Caste scholars vs RSS think tanks

Experts dismiss claim that 12th-century social reformer’s teachings were an extension of Vedic teachings; RSS-backed publication says Basavanna’s teachings were “misinterpreted” by leftist thinkers.

Covers of Vachana Darshana and Vachana Nija Darshana

Bengaluru: A battle has broken out in Karnataka’s intellectual community over the alleged appropriation of Basavanna after scholars of caste released a book to counter a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed publication’s controversial interpretation of the 12th-century social reformer’s teachings.

The 60-page book by scholar Meenakshi Bali, Vachana Nija Darshana (The True Teachings of Basavanna), released last week, challenges the claims by the RSS-backed Vachana Darshana that Basavanna’s teachings or vachanas were an extension of Vedic teachings—a characterisation that has been criticised as going against the social reformer’s beliefs.

Basavanna, who was inspired by the Bhakti movement, was critical of Vedic practices and believed in a casteless society.

“My book challenges the baseless claims made in Vachana Darshana and attempts to saffronise the teachings of Basavanna to suit their (Hindutva groups’) narrative,” Bali told ThePrint.

ThePrint reached the publishers of Vachana Darshana for comment via email but didn’t receive a response. This report will be updated if and when they respond.

Vachana Darshana—published by RSS-affiliated think tanks Ayodhya Publications and Prajna Pravah—argues that Basavanna’s teachings were “misinterpreted” by Leftist thinkers and the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) fraternity.

Released by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) B.L. Santhosh in August, the contentious publication has been criticised as an extension of a wider Hindutva push in education and the intellectual sphere in Karnataka that gained momentum when the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government attempted to change the syllabus of school textbooks in 2022.

The changes included embedding chapters on V.D. Savarkar, removing contributions by some Dalit and backward-class writers, and adding writings by Brahmins and ideologues of the RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

The row over Basavanna’s teachings also comes against the backdrop of growing attempts by leaders across the ideological spectrum to appropriate the iconic social reformer’s legacy.

Basavanna’s followers, who are called Lingayats, are a dominant community in Karnataka’s political and social landscape. They are also found in several other states, including Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where they account for a significant chunk of the population.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invoked Basavanna’s name on several occasions, especially during the elections in Karnataka last year. He referred to the social reformer while laying the foundation stone of the new Parliament complex in 2020, and unveiled a statue of him in London in 2015.

‘Indian tradition’

The latest dispute over Basavanna’s teachings erupted with the publication of the 229-page Vachana Darshana, which has no author but an honorary editor, Jagadguru Shri Sadasivananda Mahaswami, and four other editors known to follow Vedic teachings.

One of the contentious issues in the book is the almost blue cover image of a person meditating before what appears to be a holy book. Experts say the image resembles the Hindu deity Rama, and is different from the traditional pictures of Basavanna people are used to seeing.

Professor R.K. Hudagi, a Lingayat scholar and expert on caste, says the publishers have used the image of an “unknown person” and tried to portray him as Basavanna.

A bow and arrow resembling symbols used by Hindutva groups is also inserted at the top left corner of the cover.

“For a person who spoke about folded hands, the book (Vachana Darshana) cover page depicts a bow and arrow … what is the connection between the two?” asked Bali.

Another point of dispute is that the RSS-backed publication likens sharanaru—another term for followers of Basavanna’s philosophy—to rishis, or sages of the Hindu religion, though both have very different beliefs.

Bali said the Hindu belief system speaks about bhakti, yoga, karma, jnana whereas sharanaru believe in bhakti, dasoha (service) and kayaka (work). 

She added that the concept of bhakti in Vedic scriptures is fixed and means giving in to God absolutely. On the other hand, the celebrated Lingayat poet Allamaprabhu characterised bhakti as a kind of bribe.

Similarly, she said that karma as explained in the Bhagavad Gita refers to caste-based occupations and to not expecting anything in return for work done. The vachanas, on the other hand, speak about doing honest work, seeking wages for it and not hoarding more resources than required, which then would be dasoha.

“The concept of working every day and not hoarding is something that Basavanna spoke about and we do not have to learn this from (Karl) Marx,” Bali said.

Experts also question the book’s editorial, which begins with a Sanskrit Vedic verse, saying that Vedic scriptures were composed in Sanskrit but Basavanna’s teachings were in Kannada.

The controversial RSS-backed book says the interpretation of Basavanna’s teachings by Leftist thinkers was “one-sided”.  “To understand the meaning of the vachanas, parameters implemented by the British are being used,” says its editorial.

Experts say Vachana Darshana makes a false equivalence between the Upanishads and Basavanna’s vachanas.

One of the chapters by Sangmesh Savadathimath says that “Veerashaiva is the basis” for several vachanas, an idea that contradicts the beliefs of those who see themselves as ‘pure’ Lingayats and not ‘Hinduised’ Veerashaivas.

Though Veerashaiva and Lingayat are terms sometimes used interchangeably, the former is considered a sub-sect of the community with closer ties with the Hindu religion.

Moreover, Lingayats trace their origins to Basavanna, while Veerashaivas believe they were born out of Shiva’s linga.

‘Separate religion tag’

In an effort to appeal to the politically significant Lingayat community, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka declared Basavanna the ‘cultural icon’ of Karnataka in January this year.

While on the one hand, Siddaramaiah has indicated that he holds Basavanna’s teachings in high regard, the political Opposition and representatives of dominant communities have accused the CM of trying to undercut the Lingayats and their allegedly disproportionate share of representation in politics and other fields.

The Lingayats, believed to be the single largest caste group in Karnataka, have backed the BJP in previous elections.

A 2018 decision by the Siddaramaiah-led cabinet to accord a separate minority religion status to Lingayats and draw a distinction between Veerashaivas and Lingayats backfired and the Congress lost power in the assembly elections that year.

At the time, B.S. Yediyurappa, considered the tallest Lingayat leader, and the BJP had accused Siddaramaiah of dividing the Hindu community.

Political analysts believe that Siddaramaiah’s decision to commission a socio-economic and educational survey, or caste census, in 2015 was aimed at challenging the dominant status claimed by Lingayats and Vokkaligas at 17 percent and 14 percent respectively.

There is no empirical data to support this claim and leaked findings of the report indicate that the population of these two groups is lower than 10 percent.

Though a section of Lingayats within Siddaramaiah’s cabinet support the demand for the status of a separate religion, they have opposed the release of the caste census that was officially submitted to the state government in February.

(Edited By Sugita Katyal)