Ministers Eshwar Khandre, Sharan Prakash Patil, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur and other Veerashaiva-Lingayat leaders at the inauguration of a community hostel for girls in Kalaburagi on Sunday. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
General secretary of All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha and Minister Eshwar Khandre has said that the mahasabha will build hostels with minimum 200 intake capacity for Veerashaiva-Lingayat students in every district of the State.
“Ours is a community that is dependent on knowledge. Our community students should not be deprived of higher education just because of their economic constraints. It is our responsibility to provide infrastructure and assistance to help our community students in their pursuit of higher education. We will build hostels in every district for the benefit of our community students,” Mr. Khandre said, after inaugurating a hostel for Veerashaiva-Lingayat community girls at Kotnoor-Dhariapur area in Kalaburagi on Sunday.
“A hostel for our community girls in Kalaburagi was a long-pending demand. Now, it is fulfilled. Discussions are on with a Bengaluru-based institution to provide quality food to the inmates. Our community girls will be admitted to the hostel based on their eligibility. Providing quality food, accommodation and safety are our priority,” Mr. Khandre said.
Mr. Khandre also called upon the community leaders to set aside their differences and political affiliations and raise a collective voice for pressurising the Union government to include all sub-castes of Veerashaiva-Lingayat community in the Central Other Backward Classes (OBCs) list.
“There might be rich individuals in our community. However, the community as a whole is economically weak. We need to set aside our differences and political affiliations and get united to raise our voices for the benefit of our community,” he said.
Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said that Veerashaiva-Lingayat community is known for the tradition of Kayaka [labour] and Dasoha [collective consumption] and called upon the community members to join hands to expand infrastructure such as hostels for the benefit of his community students.
Aland MLA and Chief Minister’s political advisor B.R. Patil highlighted the role of Lingayat mutts in guiding the community youth on the right path.
“Our community youth are being misled by vested interests. Lingayat seers and the heads of various mutts have a greater role to play in guiding the community youth on the right path. All community leaders need to join hands to take up various initiatives that empower the community as a whole,” he said.
Lingayat leader Doddappa Appa, seer Abhinava Siddalinga Shivacharya, Minister Sharanabasapa Darshanapur, legislators M.Y. Patil, Allamprabhu Patil, Sharanagouda Kandakur and Shashil G. Namoshi, secretary of Sharanabasaveshwar Vidya Verdhak Sangha Basavaraj Deshmukh, the former legislator Rajkumar Patil Telkur and Doddappagouda Patil Naribol, Veerashaiva Mahasabha’s district president Sharankumar Modi, Veerashaiva Mahasabha’s women’s wing head Sudha Halkai and others were present.
