{"id":5929,"date":"2025-10-06T16:11:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T10:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=5929"},"modified":"2025-10-06T16:41:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T11:11:40","slug":"we-are-all-shudras-cm-siddaramaiah-channels-basavanna-in-powerful-call-for-caste-less-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=5929","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;We Are All Shudras&#8221;: CM Siddaramaiah Channels Basavanna in Powerful Call for Caste-Less Society"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ds-message _63c77b1\">\n<div class=\"ds-markdown\">\n<h2><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>CM Siddaramaiah Declares Himself a Follower of Basavanna, Calls for a Caste-Less Society<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>Bengaluru, August 5:<\/strong> In a powerful and philosophically charged address, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday unequivocally declared himself a follower of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna, asserting that the principles of Basava&#8217;s teachings are not just eternal but more relevant than ever in the fight against social inequality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The CM was speaking at the grand culmination of the &#8216;Basava Samskriti Abhiyan-2025&#8217; at Palace Grounds, held as part of the year-long celebration honouring Basavanna as the &#8220;Cultural Leader of Karnataka.&#8221; He was honoured at the event, which was attended by over 301 Sharanas, Gurus, Swamijis, and a massive public gathering of more than two lakh people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>A Personal and Political Commitment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">&#8220;For me, Basava&#8217;s philosophy is a lifelong commitment. I am a follower of Basavanna,&#8221; Siddaramaiah stated, framing his personal and political identity around the reformer&#8217;s ideals. &#8220;The principles of Basava are not just for the past or present; they are eternal and relevant forever.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">He intricately wove his governance agenda with Basavanna&#8217;s vision, revealing a deeply personal connection. &#8220;I took my oath as Chief Minister on Basava Jayanti, and on that very day, I resolved to fulfil Basavanna&#8217;s vision of creating equal opportunities for all to live with dignity. Through various &#8216;guarantee&#8217; schemes, we have tried to create opportunities for the poor of all castes and religions,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>Media Updates: +91-93531 21474 [WhatsApp] |\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mailto:indianowme@gmail.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">indianowme@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>Rejecting Caste, Embracing &#8216;Shudra&#8217; Unity<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">In his most striking remarks, the Chief Minister launched a direct critique of the caste system, echoing Basavanna&#8217;s radical stance. &#8220;No one is superior by caste. Talent and knowledge are not the monopoly of any single caste,&#8221; he asserted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5932\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5932\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5932 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-4-200x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-4-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-4-682x1024.jpeg 682w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-4-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-4.jpeg 853w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5932\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Siddaramaiah Declares Basava&#8217;s Philosophy &#8220;Eternal,&#8221; Links Constitution to Sharana Culture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">He went a step further to build a unifying political narrative, stating, &#8220;We are all Shudras. Whatever our caste, all Shudras are one. We must realize that we are all the same, occupying the same position in the archaic four-fold varna system.&#8221; He labelled the denial of education based on caste as a &#8220;conspiracy of the elite.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>Constitution as an Extension of Basava&#8217;s Vision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">Siddaramaiah drew a direct parallel between the Indian Constitution and Basava&#8217;s Anubhava Mantapa, the historic forum for philosophical discussions. &#8220;From my days as a law student, I have been a follower of Basavanna. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar himself incorporated Basavanna&#8217;s aspirations into our Constitution. Therefore, the Constitution and Sharana culture are one and the same,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">He emphasized that the ideals of &#8220;Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity&#8221; enshrined in the Constitution&#8217;s preamble were the same as Basavanna&#8217;s dream of a caste-less and class-less society built on brotherhood. &#8220;This is why Basavanna is eternally relevant,&#8221; the CM added.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5931\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5931\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5931\" src=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-2-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-2-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-2-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-2.jpeg 1599w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5931\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karnataka CM Announces Vachana University, Pushes for &#8220;Basava Metro&#8221; in Ideological Push<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>A Warning and a Pledge for Action<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The Chief Minister also invoked Dr. B.R. Ambedkar&#8217;s warning, reminding the audience that &#8220;if inequalities are not removed, the communities suffering from them will dismantle the structure of freedom.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">He pledged to translate this philosophy into concrete institutional action, announcing that the government has agreed to establish a &#8216;Vishwa Vachana University&#8217; and will take steps for its creation next year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">In another significant announcement, he said the state government would recommend to the Centre that the Bengaluru Metro be renamed &#8216;Basava Metro&#8217;. &#8220;Had the Metro been entirely a state government project, I would have announced its naming as &#8216;Basava Metro&#8217; today itself,&#8221; he stated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">Concluding with a call for integrity, Siddaramaiah said, &#8220;Basavanna practised what he preached. We, his followers, can only become true adherents when we do the same.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The event, attended by prominent seers, progressive thinkers, and activists from the Lingayat community, was marked by widespread appreciation for the Chief Minister&#8217;s deep commitment to the Sharana culture.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5933\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5933\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5933\" src=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-5-1024x694.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"694\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-5-1024x694.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-5-300x203.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-5-768x521.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Basava-Abhiyan-5.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5933\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">7. Vachana University Gets Green Signal, Says Karnataka CM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ds-theme\">\n<h2><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Key Quotes\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;We are all Shudras. Whatever our caste, all Shudras are one.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2014 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;The principles of Basava are not just for the past or present; they are eternal and relevant forever.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2014 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;The Constitution and Sharana culture are one and the same.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2014 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, linking Basavanna to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;Talent and knowledge are not the monopoly of any single caste.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2014 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;I took my oath as Chief Minister on Basava Jayanti&#8230; I resolved to fulfil Basavanna&#8217;s vision of creating equal opportunities for all.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2014 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;Had the Metro been entirely a state government project, I would have announced its naming as &#8216;Basava Metro&#8217; today itself.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2014 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ds-flex _0a3d93b\">\n<div class=\"ds-flex _965abe9\">\n<div class=\"_17e543b db183363\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"button\" aria-disabled=\"false\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_5929\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"5929\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CM Siddaramaiah Declares Himself a Follower of Basavanna, Calls for a Caste-Less Society Bengaluru, August 5: In a powerful and philosophically charged address, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday unequivocally declared himself a follower of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna, asserting that the principles of Basava&#8217;s teachings are not just eternal but more relevant than ever [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1337,1096],"class_list":["post-5929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-karnataka","tag-basava-samskrutika-abhiyana","tag-basavanna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5934,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929\/revisions\/5934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}