Lingayats treated as Hindus since first Census in 1871: Centre to HC

The Karnataka High Court was Monday told by the Centre that the Lingayats were treated as Hindus since the first census in 1871 following which it disposed of pleas challenging the recommendations of a panel to grant religious minority status to the sect.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice S Sujatha disposed of the petitions, saying the case did not merit any consideration after the additional solicitor general submitted a copy of the Centre's letter to the Karnataka government in this regard.

The Karnataka government had written to the Centre on March 23 to grant separate religious minority status to the Lingayat sect with a copy of the panels recommendations.

However, the Ministry of Minority Affairs in its letter to the state government dated November 15 said, "The demand for separate religious status by Lingayat and Veerashaiva has been considered earlier also and it was observed that Lingayat has always been classified under Hindus ever since 1871 census, the first official census in India."