Bangalore: Some call it a masterstroke. Some call it a political hara-kiri. Karnataka’s beleaguered Prime Minister BS Yediyurappa has played a big gamble by proposing that his caste be Lingayats, Other Backward Class or OBC. It has played another gamble by setting up a separate body for them: Veerashaiva – Lingayat Development Corporation. Both decisions have triggered a political storm, which threatens to further divide the state along caste lines, apparently angering the RSS.
Although the nervous prime minister has postponed the decision after a frenzy from the BJP high command in New Delhi opposing the move, Yediyurappa has already let the genie out of the bottle.
Political experts are divided on what really led the 78-year-old stalwart to gamble at this age. Some argue that he has done it to save his unstable chair by consolidating the support of Lingayats in his favor. Others feel that it is just an impulsive decision, which has backfired and further eroded their authority over the government and the BJP.
The Lingayats are the largest caste in Karnataka after the Programmed Castes or SCs. The upper caste Shaivaites, who even call themselves a separate religion, founded in the 12th century by a great social reformer, Basavanna, are politically and economically the most influential caste in Karnataka. Yediyurappa is considered its undisputed leader with a large mass of followers among them.
Some Lingayats are not content with just forming a Development Corporation and demand a 16% reserve on the lines of the Maratha reserve in neighboring Maharashtra. They claim that most lingayats are extremely poor and it is a mistake to think that they are all fine.
Making them OBC allows them to obtain reserves in the jobs of the central and state government. But, the other breeds that are already OBC are nervous about the move to do OBC Lingayats and are flexing their muscles to avoid this by demanding that some of them be added to SC or ST, further complicating the issue.
After he formed the Lingayat Development Corporation, at least 50 other castes have come forward suing boards and similar corporations for them.
According to some insiders, Yediyurappa’s move has greatly upset the RSS, which believes in Hindu unity and wants people to rise above caste affiliations. They feel that Yediyurappa, consciously or unconsciously, has undone something that the RSS has painstakingly constructed over the years.
When the top Lingayat leader in Congress, MB Patil, spearheaded a movement for a separate Lingayat religion label three years ago, Yediyurappa himself had accused him of trying to divide the Hindu religion. Now his critics are citing the same example to embarrass Yediyurappa.
MB Patil, the second most influential Lingayat leader after Yediyurappa, maintains a radio silence on current events. He declined to comment on the events saying that he is only closely observing events.
But his followers are now making fun of the BJP and RSS saying that their own man Yediyurappa has now divided the Hindu religion and not MB Patil.
“It is a fact that Basavanna founded the Lingayat religion to fight against the Hindu caste system. He wanted to create an egalitarian and caste-free society. We are certainly a separate religion. But, Yediyurappa is now dividing the entire Hindu religion along caste lines by forming boards and corporations for each caste. What is RSS’s position on this? asked one of the leaders of the separate Lingayat religion.
Mindful of the sensitive nature of the whole issue, Congress is acting cautiously in issuing measured reactions.
If Yediyurappa forwards the reservation for Lingayats’ recommendation to the Center, the BJP government in New Delhi will have to handle it with great care, as any setback could cost the saffron festival dearly in the future.
Only time will tell if Yediyurappa has trapped the high command or has shot himself in the leg when opening a Pandora’s Box.
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