Afzalpur MLA M.Y. Patil, along with Lingayat leaders, addressing a media conference at the Dasoha Mahamane of Sharana Basaveshwara Samsthan in Kalaburagi on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
In a press conference held at the Dasoha Mahamane of Sharana Basaveshwara Samsthana in Kalaburagi on Sunday (April 13, 2025), M.Y. Patil, MLA for Afzalpur and the president of the Basava Jayanti Celebration Committee, announced that a grand public meeting would be held at the Sharana Basaveshwara Jatra Maidan on the evening of April 29 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Basavanna, 12th-century poet, philosopher, reformer and the founding saint of the Lingayat tradition.
Elaborating on the event, Mr. Patil said that over 25,000 followers of Basavanna were expected to participate in the event which would begin with a car rally on April 27, followed by a women’s bike rally and the public meeting on April 29.
“On April 30, the government will organise Basava Jayanti celebrations near the Basavanna statue at Jagat Circle in the city. A grand procession will commence at 4 p.m. from Nagareshwar School to Jagat Circle on that day. The procession would display artists in various costumes featuring the Sharanas [the 12th Century reformers] and cultural performances dedicated to Basavanna and his Vachana revolution,” he said.
“Aravind Jatti, the president of Basava Samithi, has agreed to distribute books of Vachana literature during the event. As part of the public meeting preparations, many meetings will be conducted on April 15 in Aland, Afzalpur, and Jewargi, and on April 17 in Chitapur, Sedam, and Chincholi. Meetings will also be held in all 51 wards of the city, led by current and former MLAs, along with past and present municipal council members, to ensure the public meeting is a grand success,” he said.
Stressing the unity of Basavanna’s followers, Mr. Patil said that Ministers and all MLAs and former MLAs from this region, irrespective of party affiliations, were actively working and contributing to the efforts to make the event a grand success.
“The celebration of Basava Jayanti on a single platform aims to instil Basava’s principle – the doctrine of Kayaka [physical labour] and Dasoha [feeding the needy] in people’s hearts. It aims to promote the practice of Sharana Dharma through Vachana literature and demonstrate the strength of the Basava followers as a social unit,” he said.
Mr. Patil also announced that a book containing 50 selected Vachanas for daily recitation would also be released on the occasion.
The press conference was attended by Minister for Small Scale Industries and Public Enterprises Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, MLA Allamaprabhu Patil, Secretary of Sharana Basaveshwara Vidyavardhaka Sangha Basavaraj Deshmukh, District President of Akhil Bharata Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha Sharanakumar Modi, and other community leaders including Amarnath Patil, Dattatreya Patil Revoor, Doddappagouda Patil Naribol, Prabhuling Mahaganvakar, R.G. Shatgar, Ravindra Shabadi, Kalyanrao Patil, Arunakumar S. Patil Kodalahangarga, and Dr. Kiran Deshmukh, along with representatives from various organisations that follow Sharana philosophy.
Published – April 14, 2025 07:24 am IST
