Basava Jayanti, Sharana Vaibhava celebrated at Kudala Sangama

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister M.B. Patil and other leaders presenting the Basava National Award to Vachana scholar Shivaputrappa Rayappa Gunjal at Kudala Sangama in Bagalkot district on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Basava Jayanti and Sharana Vaibhava were celebrated on Wednesday in Kudala Sangama in Bagalkot district where Basavanna’s samadhi is located.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the Basava National Award to Sharana scholar and veteran librarian Shivaputrappa Rayappa Gunjal.

The State government has recognised the 92-year-old Gunjal’s lifelong dedication to his research work on the literature of Basavanna and the other Sharanas.

The Chief Minister read out the Vachana, Ivanarava, Ivanarava…, and the crowd repeated after him.

Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi released a book, Vishwa Guru Basavanna Karnataka’s cultural leader, authored by Veeranna Rajur, Meenakshi Bali and Ramzan Dargah.

The event witnessed the presence of several Lingayat seers and preachers of Muslim and Christian religious institutions.

Minister R.B. Thimmapur said that it was a matter of concern that social evils like untouchability and caste-based discrimination continued even after nine centuries of the Sharana revolution.

“We need to fully understand the intent of the Sharanas and implement the ideas found in the Vachanas in our lives,” he said.

Sri Nijagunananda Swami of Bailur Nishkala Mantapa gave a call for communal harmony. “We are a secular democratic republic and we should stay that way. Communal harmony is the way forward. We should preserve its character. We need to realise that communal and casteist forces are dangerous and will lead to disaster,” he said.

The seer recalled that as a Minister in the J.H. Patel government, Mr. Siddaramaaiah helped set up the Kudal Sangama Development Board. “Mr. Siddaramaiah renamed the women’s university after Akka Mahadevi and mandated the use of Basavanna’s portrait in government offices, schools and colleges and declared Basavanna as Karnataka’s cultural leader. In implementing various development schemes and welfare programmes, Mr. Siddaramaiah has been trying to implement the ideologies of Buddha, Basavanna and B.R. Ambedkar. Only a person from a socialist background can do this,” he claimed.

The seer demanded that the government install statues of Basavanna and his wife Neelambike in Kudala Sangama. He urged the State government to bring out a reprint of the 15 editions of the Vachanas at an affordable cost and run a campaign to popularise Vachana literature among school and college students.

Minister M.B. Patil said that Dr. Gunjal was chosen for his work on Vachana literature. “Dr. Gunjal has worked on documentation of the Vachanas at the Fa Gu Halakatti centre and has worked along with M.M. Kalaburgi on Vachana philosophy,” Mr. Patil said.

Mr. Patil traced the life of Basavanna from being born in a Shaiva Brahmin family to being one of the harshest critics of Vedic philosophy.

He demanded the setting up of a university or Vachana research centre on the new Anubhava Mantapa premises in Kudala Sangama. He thanked the Chief Minister for a grant of ₹40 lakh for republication of Shivanubhava magazine brought out by Fa Gu Halakatti in 1920. Mr. Patil sought the help of the State government to set up a Basavanna experience centre in Bengaluru to introduce him to the younger generations. The Basava Samiti has offered to provide land for the centre, he said.

MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar urged the State government to set up a tall statue of Basavanna in Bengaluru.

Ministers, MLAs and other leaders were present during the celebrations.

Earlier, a grand procession was taken out from Sangamanath Temple to Basaveshwara Circle in the town. Folk artists performed along the route. Busts and images of Basavanna and other Sharanas were taken around.