Bengaluru: Come election season and mutts (mathas) in Karnataka witness a stream of high-profile guests, from ticket-seekers to nationwide leaders. Most castes and sub-castes in Karnataka, together with Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Kurubas, Valmikis, Nayakas, and Madigas are categorised below numerous sections of the state’s backward lessons checklist. All these castes and sub-castes have their very own non secular centres, often known as mutts.
On 31 December final 12 months, Union House minister Amit Shah was seen with Sri Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji, head pontiff of the influential Adichunchanagiri Mutt which represents the dominant Vokkaliga group, as a part of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion’s (BJP) ballot marketing campaign for the 2023 meeting elections.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other different high BJP leaders took to social media to condole the dying of Sri Siddeshwara Swami of Jnana Yogashram in Vijayapura district.
Why these non secular leaders — whose affect is proscribed to some districts at finest — are so revered, is vital to understanding the state’s politics. ThePrint explains how these mutts turned energy centres.
Additionally Learn: What Bommai govt’s quota improve for Lingayats & Vokkaligas means for EWS in poll-bound Karnataka
What are mutts & how do they broaden
With tens of hundreds of followers every, mutts are caste-specific non secular centres that exist throughout Karnataka, representing numerous communities.
A member of the group who has served its non secular leaders for a number of years is appointed to preside over these mutts. These pontiffs are hailed as custodians of data and traditions, and grow to be the non secular gurus of their respective communities.
Whereas there isn’t any official depend of the variety of mutts in Karnataka, it’s believed that almost all castes and sub-castes, or no less than the outstanding ones, have their very own establishments.
For example, the Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur, Tontadarya Mutt in Gadag, Suttur Mutt in Mysuru, and Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga are amongst outstanding non secular centres of the dominant Lingayat group. Equally, the Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Mandya is the non secular headquarters of the Vokkaligas, whereas the Kanaka Guru Peetha in Kaginele represents the Kurubas, and the Madarachannaiah Gurupeeta in Chitradurga the Madigas.
Although mutts have existed in Karnataka since time immemorial, it was solely across the 12 months 2000 that smaller sub-sects, aside from influential Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, began constructing their very own mutts. Specialists consider that Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru — head pontiff of the Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga, at present in jail on expenses of rape — helped smaller sub-sects arrange their very own non secular headquarters.
“The pinnacle of the Murugha Mutt helped construct smaller non secular centres for Vaddars, Kurubas, Madigas, Kolhis and Bhovis, amongst others. However these smaller mutts gained significance over time and are now not subordinates to Murugha Mutt that wished to be the non secular headquarters,” mentioned author R.Okay. Hudgi, a retired Gulbarga Technical College professor.
Virtually all mutts in Karnataka maintain themselves and develop in power with the assistance of group members who’re both rich or wield political clout.
Apart from operating academic establishments and orphanages, most of those mutts additionally have interaction in charity in rural elements of Karnataka.
The Siddaganga Mutt alone has over 50,000 college students learning in its over 130 faculties and faculties, whereas the Murugha Mutt runs about 150 such establishments and the Tontadarya Mutt practically 90 faculties and faculties, providing skilled training and a bunch of different programs.
Most of those academic institutes are positioned in rural elements the place they cater to kids from lower-income teams who’re despatched there without cost training and meals. In flip, mutts depend on these efforts to broaden their base. A method to try this is to have beneficiaries of the mutt’s philanthropy mission its non secular leaders as a non secular being or an avatar of god.
On why communities felt the necessity to arrange these mutts, specialists say their most important goal was to protect, shield and promote the heritage and historical past of a selected caste or sub-caste. However these non secular centres have advanced over time. They now search increased reservation for his or her communities, settle disputes and in some cases, even affect a political get together’s candidate choice course of for particular constituencies.
Works of social anthropologist Aya Ikegame, a professor of Asian Research on the College of Tokyo, present perception into the scope of the powers of those pontiffs. In her paper, ‘Ethical transcendence? The guru in democracy’, Ikegame spoke of her travels to a village in central Karnataka in 2015 the place she encountered a Lingayat non secular chief who ran a “nyaya peetha” or seat of justice, to settle disputes, moreover choosing individuals who the mutt believed ought to symbolize the group in native and state governments — a follow known as ‘aike’.
Furthermore, complicated layers of reservation for backward lessons in Karnataka made room for outstanding caste teams to mobilise the plenty and demand higher advantages and illustration.
“Caste-based mutts have grow to be such that they solely demand advantages for their very own teams with out consideration of another teams who’re socially, educationally and politically backward,” mentioned Okay. Kariswamy, writer of the paper ‘New Mathas, New Battles’.
Political clout of mutts
Folks from all walks of life, particularly from economically backward sections, ship their kids to academic establishments run by mutts since a lot of them supply free training, meals and even lodging. This enables mutts to broaden their follower base, and instills a way of identification and delight amongst members of the group affiliated with the mutt.
The non secular leaders heading these mutts then assert this affect to demand extra reservation in authorities jobs, academic establishments and legislatures.
Prime political leaders, together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other of his predecessors, have been photographed visiting these mutts and in search of the blessings of the influential non secular leaders operating them within the hope of gaining their endorsement come polling day.
In 2018, quickly after Union House minister Amit Shah (then BJP president) visited the Madara Channaiah Gurupeeta, scores of individuals thronged the non secular chief with recordsdata or ‘biodata’, falling at his toes and in search of his blessings. Because the non secular chief defined, a few of these have been ‘ticket aspirants’ who sought the pontiff’s endorsement to contest native or state elections.
“Whichever manner the society goes, I may also go the identical manner. And whichever manner I am going, society additionally goes. If each are in sync, then we head in the identical course,” the non secular chief advised ThePrint when requested how these non secular centres train their political clout.
Footage of Shah touching the toes of the non secular chief and in search of his blessings have been broadly shared on social media by pages managed by Madigas, projecting the gesture as an indication of delight and status for the group.
Forward of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, amid hypothesis that they could contest as candidates, the names of many non secular leaders did the rounds in political circles, together with that of Basava Murthy Madara Channaiah of Madara Channaiah Gurupeet in Chitradurga.
Successive governments in Karnataka have supported these mutts. Nevertheless, it was solely throughout B.S. Yediyurappa’s time period as deputy chief minister within the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition authorities, that the state started giving the mutts budgetary grants.
Famous Kannada author Baraguru Ramachandrappa advised ThePrint that outstanding Lingayat non secular leaders had rallied behind Yediyurappa after he was eliminated because the chief minister only one week into his tenure in 2007. They then backed him within the 2008 election, serving to the BJP kind its first authorities in a state in southern India.
“A number of Lingayat non secular leaders had protested towards Yediyurappa’s elimination (in 2011 and in 2021) and several other gave public statements, expressing their displeasure,” he mentioned. Yediyurappa returned the favour by allocating Rs 20 crore for such mutts within the 2011-12 state finances.
In keeping with Ramchandrappa, “there was no backing away” after Yediyurappa’s largesse.
A powerful bargaining power, Mutts oppose authorities coverage like the discharge of findings of the Chinnappa Reddy Fee report — on backwardness — and have even halted industrial initiatives. Head pontiff of the Tontadarya Mutt famously sided with farmers and efficiently campaigned towards a proposed 6 million tonne metal plant in Gadag in 2011.
“Paroksha (oblique) has grow to be Prathyaksha (direct),” Ramachandrappa defined.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Additionally Learn: ‘Hindutva sidelined’ — why Proper-wing outfit Sri Ram Sene plans to tackle BJP in Karnataka polls