Bangalore: Karnataka offers a very interesting case of a powerful ruling caste (Vokkaligas) getting ruined for wanting a strong “caste identity”.
Along with Brahmins, who have achieved the unique status of India’s ruling class because of their strong love of their jati, Karnataka has two others ruling jatis— Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
Lingayats (Veerashivas) are followers of Basaveswara who formed a religion of his own revolting against Brahminism. But Brahminism swallowed it (as it did with Sikhism) and reduced it to a caste (shudra) group. Though divided into several mutts, the Lingayats are a cohesive, united group because of the strong love for their jati fostered by their Lingayat mutts and swamis.
‘As against this, the Vokkaligas, a much smaller group of farmers confined to old Mysore state, have been always a house divided. This is because they still look up to Brahmins as their religious heads. The Vokkaligas have a mutt and a swami (Balagangadhara Swami), but not all Vokkaligas acknowledge him as their spiritual head. This is where the problem begins.
Vokkaligas continue to go to Brahmin ‘temples and seek Brahmin priests which is not the case with Lingayats.
Such a lack of “caste identity” has just come.to the open in the clash between former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, a Vokkaliga, and their swami. Vaidiks, who are experts in the divide and rule game, did their job through their Brahminical toilet paper.
When the Vokkaligas lack a strong love of their jati, the job of killing that jati becomes easy. This is. a warning to all those who don’t love their jati.
The charge of Deve Gowda, who is himself a stooge of Brahmins, is swami is pro-rich, pro-Congress (Chief Minister Krishna is a Vokkaliga) and pro-BJP. Last year, the swami inaugurated a big Hindu nazi RSS military show in Bangalore, an unpardonable crime.
The swami’s biggest failure is in not developing an independent Vokkaliga priesthood and thereby allowing his jati people to go to Brahmin priests.
The Lingayats fight but will never play into the hands of vaidiks. But the Vokkaliga failure to constitute themselves into a separate community, independent of Brahmins like the Lingayats, made them an easy prey to Brahminical machinations.
This is a lesson to all castes (nations) interested in consolidating their jati interests. Their priority should be to become independent of Brahminical control.
The Vokkaligas, already under the sledgehammer of ‘Brahmins and Lingayats, present a very pathetic case of a jati destroying itself.
