Bengaluru: The expulsion of a prominent seer in Karnataka for his leanings towards Hinduism has exposed the strain between the Lingayat community and the pro-Hindu organisations in the state and the complexities of prevailing caste dynamics.

Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swami, the first head of Panchamasali Peetha, an outfit of the Lingayat community’s Panchamasali sub-sect in Kudalasangama, was expelled from his position after he asked members to register in the ‘Hindu’ religion category in the caste census that began Monday, triggering a controversy.

The Akhila Bharata Lingayat Panchamasali Samaj Trust removed him after the seer held meetings urging people to identify as ‘Hindu’, not Lingayat, in the ongoing survey, officially called the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey. Show Full Article

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