Minority status for Lingayats a distant dream, say experts

BENGALURU: Though a sevenmember expert committee examining the demand for minority status to Lingayats recommended that the government consider the community’s plea, legal eagles and experts say it’s unlikely to become a reality in the near future due to lack of time and legal tangles.
To score brownie points, the Congress government may accept the report by placing it before the cabinet and recommend to the Union government that minority status be granted. This will only result in putting the ball in the BJP’s court ahead of the assembly polls.

“The Karnataka government is unlikely to get time to grant minority status for Lingayat community, with hardly a fortnight left for the announcement of polls. The status cannot be granted overnight as there are elaborate procedures, including reworking the current reservation system to accommodate Lingayats in the minority group which includes Muslims, Christians, Jains, among others,’’ former state public prosecutor H Chandramouli said.

In November, the Lingayat Mahasabha asked the Karnataka government to write to the Centre by December 30 to recommend minority status for the community, following which a seven-member expert panel, headed by retired high court judge Justice H N Nagmohan Das, was formed. The community wants to be recognised as a religion separate from Hinduism.

Lingayats in Maharashtra had made a similar demand and it has been forwarded to the Centre. “If it's endorsed by the Karnataka government, the Lingayat community can pressure the Centre for minority tag at the national level under Section 2 (3) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992," said some Congress MLAs fighting for the minority tag.

“The Karnataka State Minorities Commission Act, 1994 allows the state government to accord minority status to any community within Karnataka. Since the Lingayats are also elsewhere in the country, including Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, among others, the government may recommend it to the Centre,’’ said former bureaucrat SM Jaamdar.

AS Ponnanna, additional advocate general, endorsed Jaamdar’s view and said the priority now is to clear the legal hurdle. Some have already approached the Karnataka high court questioning the constitution of the expert committee. The next hearing is on March 9 where the state government is expected to make its stand clear.

There’s a quota rider: Lingayats, classified as Other Backward Classes, currently enjoy 15% reservation under 2B and 3B. If Lingayats are included in the minorities’ category, not only do reservation benefits get reduced but may attract the ire of other minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians.

Noted Kannada littérateur Chandrashekhar Patil has backed the panel’s recommendations.