Committee to examine demand of minority status for Lingayats on January 6

‘Minor’ steps, major result 

The seven-member committee to examine the demand Lingayats for minority status will have its first meeting on January 6. Headed by H N Nagmohan Das, a retired high court judge, it also consists of C S Dwarakanath, former chairman of the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, political scientist Muzaffar Assadi, Purushottam Bilimale, head of the Kannada chair at JNU; S G Siddaramaiah, chairman, Kannada Development Authority, and journalist Sarjoo Katkar.

The panel will give its report within four weeks to the Karnataka State Minorities Commission (KSMC). The committee will study the five representations received by KSMC — three demand separate minority religion for Lingayats, one argues the community members are Hindus and the other by the Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha demanding a minority religion tag for Veerashaiva-Lingayats.

Food for all 

From Monday, 246 Indira canteens will be opened across Karnataka to serve heavily subsidised and cooked food. They will be set up in government hospitals, bus stands and railway stations at 121 locations outside Bengaluru.

In the city, the canteens are restricted to areas where the locality population is 100,000 and above. These restrictions will not apply outside the city.