Vokkaligas, Lingayats share in Karnataka Reservation

Vokkaligas, Lingayats share in Karnataka Reservation

• Vokkaligas and Lingayats, the two largest communities, have recently been moved from the "backward" category to "moderately backward" by the Karnataka Cabinet in a move that could raise their share of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

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• Karnataka currently has a 32% OBC quota, 17% Scheduled Castes quota, and 7% Scheduled Tribes quota, bringing the total to 56% quota.
• Veerashaiva Lingayats' Panchamasali sub-sect has sought to be moved from their present 3B category, which has 5% quota, to the 2A category, which has 15% quota.
• The Vokkaliga community will be transferred from the 3A category to a brand-new 2C category with 4% reservation.
• Additionally, the Lingayat community—which was previously in the 3B category—will now fall under the new 2D category, which has a 5% reservation.
• The Cabinet makes sure that the Lingayat community is not divided into subgroups.
• The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes' suggestions, which were based on an interim report it had given Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on December 23, was taken into consideration.
• Based on the population of various communities as determined by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, the EWS quota would be redistributed, increasing the reservation from the one now allocated to these communities—4% for Vokkaligas and 5% for Lingayats.
• By adding it to Schedule 9 of the Constitution, the Karnataka government would ask the Centre to approve the increase in the reservation.
• A list of federal and state laws that are unchallengeable in court can be found in the ninth schedule.
• It was incorporated into the Constitution in 1951, the year it underwent its first amendment.
• It was established by the new Article 31B, which was introduced by the government together with Article 31A to defend legislation pertaining to agrarian reform and the abolition of the Zamindari system.
• Following Lingayats in terms of population in the state is the Vokkaliga ethnic group.

Lingayats: Who are they?

• A person is referred to as a lingayat if they have a personal linga, which is a representation of the Hindu god Shiva that is placed on their body during the initiation ritual.
• The Lingayats are devotees of Basaveshwara, a poet and social reformer who lived in the 12th century.
• Both the caste system and Vedic rituals were not followed by Basaveshwara.
• The Lingayats adhere to monotheism. They encourage worshipping Linga as the sole deity (Shiva).
• Lingayats are Shaivites and have been categorised as a Hindu subcaste known as "Veerashaiva Lingayats."
• Lingayats believe to have their own religion: Lingayats have separated from Hindu Veerashaivas because they adhere to the Vedas and uphold the caste system, which Basaveshwara opposed.

Vokkaligas: Who are they?

• Even the Rashtrakutas and Western Gangas are thought to have sprung from the Vokkaliga.
• Vokkaliga is a group defined by occupation, and in that sense, it could be considered an ethnic category since its members are mostly farmers at heart.
• In the Indian state of Karnataka, the Vokkaliga caste first appeared. The Vokkaligas made up the majority of the population in the former princely state of Mysore.
• They have historically possessed enormous demographic, political, and economic power in Old Mysore as a community of warriors and cultivators.

How has the OBC Reservation Status Changed Over Time?

• The first backward classes other than Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at the national level were identified by the Kalelkar Commission, which was established in 1953.
• According to the Mandal Commission Report from 1980, 1 257 communities were deemed backward and the OBC population was expected to be 52%.
• It suggested raising the present SC/ST-only quotas from 22.5% to 49.5% in order to include the OBCs.
• According to Article 16(4), the central government reserved 27% of the seats in union civil posts and services for OBCs. Following that, the quotas were put into effect at educational facilities run by the central government [Article 15 (4)].
• The Supreme Court ordered the national government to eliminate the advanced parts (the creamy layer) from the OBCs in 2008.