CM urges all communities to embrace Basavanna

Time of India

24-05-2025

Mysuru: Lord Basavanna does not belong to one caste, and all communities should embrace Basavanna as he did not fight for one community but for the entire society, said chief minister
Siddaramaiah
.
Speaking at the Basava Jayanthi celebration organised jointly by Basava Balaga Okkuta and Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha in Mysuru, the CM announced that the Anubhava Mantapa, initiated by govt with a cost exceeding Rs 600 crore, will be completed and inaugurated next year.
He described the 12th-century social reformer as not only a cultural leader but also a world economist for transforming the lives of millions of people by advocating his Kayaka (work) philosophy of life, as well as the practice of equality, and his social revolution of ending discrimination of people on caste and religious lines.
He also highlighted the importance of mass feeding and opposed the categorisation of people based on work and profession in those days. "Basavanna always advocated that all work and professions carry equal weight and importance in building a discrimination-free, equal society," he said.
"Basavanna and his contemporaries, like the Sharanas, were all responsible for the social revolution during the 12th century; that kind of social revolution was not witnessed in the world during that period.
These social reformers strived to build a casteless, discrimination-free, equal society," the CM said. "By forming Anubhava Mantap, like a religious parliament, Basavanna also encouraged free speech, freedom of expression, and debates to end discrimination in society," he added.
The CM also hailed the contributions of Vachanas and Sharanas literature for the promotion and growth of Kannada literature. "These Vachanakaras were also successful in their efforts to spread awareness among people, especially the working-class, by writing their Vachanas in simple language easily understood by those who were deprived of education in those days," he said.
The CM also recalled the importance of education, his school days, and his primary schoolteacher Rajappa, who directly provided admission to him to study from Class 5 when his parents were uneducated.
He also highlighted the contribution of BR Ambedkar in promoting education and the Indian Constitution, ensuring equal rights and opportunities, and safeguarding the importance of all citizens of the nation.
The CM also promised to release necessary grants for the completion of the construction of Basava Bhavan in Mysuru city.