The mega rally organised at the Ambedkar District Stadium on Sunday for demanding religion tag for Lingayat was supported by people from different faiths and communities, including Muslims and Jains, and Dalits.
Though the organisers of the rally had organised food and water for participants at different places in the city, the leaders of Muslims and Jains also made their contribution.
Several groups of Muslims and Jains who had put up their stalls on the stadium premises offered mineral water, bananas, bread and other eatables to the participants.
“We have been supporting the demand for Lingayat religion as we feel that their demand is justified; therefore, we have decided to extend our support by offering eatables and water to those coming from the far-flung areas of the State,” said Irfan Shaikh, a member of Begum Talab Parisara Rakshana Samiti.
He said that several Muslims and Dalits were ideologically with the campaign as they believed that the preaching of the 12th Century social reformer Basaveshwara matched largely with the belief of Islam and Ambedkar.
Equality
“Islam and the ideologies of Ambedkar do not believe in the caste system and they both propagate equality; Basaveshwara also followed similar belief in his life and preached them through his Vachanas. Thus, many organisations of the two communities decided to extend their support to the cause,” Mr. Shaikh said.
He said that like them, other organisations too made their contribution either by distributing food or arranging vehicles free to bring people from various parts of the district.
R.B. Timmapur, Excise Minister and Dalit leader from Bagalkot district, who attended the event, said that he has been following the belief and ideologies of Ambedkar and Basaveshwara since both have striking similarities.