Expert panel formed to resolve the religion status to Veerashaiva-Lingayat

Bengaluru: Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa on Wednesday announced a 10-member expert committee to find clarity on the Veerashaiva-Lingayat matter.

Mahasabha wants Veerashaiva-Lingayat to become a religion, wherein the Lingayat community is in the opinion that Lingayat is a religion in itself with Veerashaiva being a sub-sect.

Mahasabha vice-president N Thippanna maintained that Veerashaiva and Lingayat were the same, former DG&IGP Shankar Bidari urged both camps to “stop digging out mythology and literature” and focus on the task at hand. “Lingayats are becoming politically negligible. We should put an end to our internal bickering and work together,” Bidari said.

Addressing the media president Shamanur Shivashankarappa said“A 10-member expert committee will be formed under my chairmanship in the next three days and it will submit its report within a week,”

The committee which will have members from both the groups will further decide and conclude if a separate religion has to be called Veerashaiva-Lingayat or just Lingayat.