Revised textbook should say Basavanna ‘propagated’ Veerashaiva religion instead of ‘developing’ it: Seers

At the same time, the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Shivacharyara Samsthe, an organisation that represents a section of Veerashaiva seers, expressed its concurrence for ‘blending of Basavanna with Veerashaiva religion’ in the class 9 Social Science textbook

A file photo of school textbooks in Karnataka. | Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA

The row over textbook revision has now started evoking micro-level responses. The Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Shivacharyara Samsthe, an organisation that represents a section of Veershaiva seers, on Sunday said that it would have been better if the revised lesson on 12th century social reformer Basavanna had said that he had “propagated” Veerashaiva religion instead of saying that he “developed” the religion.

At the same time, the samsthe expressed its concurrence for what it called “blending of Basavanna with Veershaiva religion” in the Class IX Social Science textbook.

In a letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on behalf of the samsthe, Mahanthalinga Shivacharya, seer of Shreemadhvibhutipura Veerasimhasana Mutt, Bengaluru, described as “half truth” the lines in the revised lesson that said: “Basavanna achieved dhyana (meditation) by getting Linga deekshe (religious anointment) by the Shaiva guru”.

“The fact that Veerashaiva has been cut short into Shaiva itself indicates a lack of study. Revising Veershaiva as Shaiva itself indicates that there was no study with respect to history,” the seer said in the letter, while pointing out that Jaataveda Muni of Saranga Mutt had given Linga Deekshe to Basavanna. The muni was associated with the mutt belonging to the Veerashaiva tradition, he said.

“There were efforts to falsely project Basavanna, who was the real Veerashiva, as a Lingayat,’’ the seer alleged, and appealed to the Chief Minister to put an end to such efforts.