The Basava Dharma Samrakshana Horata Samiti Kalyana Karnataka has announced a protest against the proposed Basavadi Sharanara Hindu Samavesha at Basavakalyan on Sunday, saying that the event is a politically motivated attempt to appropriate Basaveshwara’s egalitarian legacy and dilute the distinct identity of Basava philosophy.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, samiti member R.G. Shetgar welcomed the High Court’s order in Kalaburagi restraining Adrushya Kadasiddeshwar Swami of Kanheri Mutt from addressing the samavesha.

However, he demanded that the seer also be barred from entering Basavakalyan to attend the samavesha.

“Those who oppose Basava philosophy and its ideals of equality have no moral right to enter the land sanctified by Basaveshwara’s revolutionary movement,” he said.

Samiti member Meenakshi Bali said that organisations affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are using the title Basavadi Sharanara Hindu Samavesha to give a political programme the appearance of a Basava movement and attract followers of Basaveshwara and his philosophy.

“Those who have defended Sanatan ideologies that deny equality and social justice for centuries cannot invoke Basaveshwara’s name to mislead people. They should either hold a Basavadi Sharanara conference or a Hindu Samavesha. Merging the two is nothing but an attempt to blur ideological boundaries,” she said.

Dr. Bali said that the event is a curtain-raiser for the proposed Basava Bharat Samskruti Utsav to be held at Basavakalyan in 2027.

“They are using seers from Basava philosophy mutts as a façade to legitimise their agenda and lure Basava followers. This attempt to appropriate Basaveshwara’s legacy for political ends will not succeed,” Dr. Bali claimed.

Referring to Kadasiddeshwar Swami’s “derogatory” remarks against a woman, Dr. Bali said, “A seer steeped in Sanatan ideology can only spew venom, but the followers of Basava philosophy respond through the Vachanas, not hate.”

Progressive thinker R.K. Hudgi said that the samavesha formed part of a larger ideological exercise to record evidence and portray Basavadi Sharanas as part of the broader Hindu fold, thereby weakening the long-standing demand for recognition of Lingayat as an independent religion.

The samiti members will stage a protest at the Mahadwara, the entrance to Basavakalyan, on Sunday to register their protest against the event.