BENGALURU, INDIA, March 19, 2018 (Live Mint): HPI Note: Among the benefits of being granted minority status is the freedom to run educational and religious institutions without interference or takeover by the State government. This is possible because actual “freedom of religion” is only granted to minority religions in India and not to the majority Hindus. Additionally in the case of Karnataka, there is a considerable political component involved as Lingayats are a substantial voting bloc in the State.
“After due deliberations and some discussion on concerns on various sections of society, cabinet has decided to accept the recommendations of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission which, based on the report by the expert committee headed by Justice Nagmohan Das that has recommended to consider grant of recognition as religious minority to the Lingayat and Veershaiva Lingayats under Section 2(d) of the Karnataka State Minorities Act,” T.B.Jayachandra, law and parliamentary affairs minister of Karnataka said after a meeting of the state cabinet.
By mentioning both Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats separately, the cabinet chose to introduce some level of ambiguity into the original recommendation to pacify disgruntled Veerashaivas, who feared being left out of the separate minority religion movement led by the water resources minister M.B. Patil of the Congress party in Karnataka. S.M. Jamdar, a retired IAS officer and the catalyst behind the separate religion movement, said that Lingayats had been considered a separate religion for 800 years until 1871, before it was taken away without reason in 1881. To avoid any backlash from other communities, the government added that this decision “should not affect the existing benefits available to other religious or linguistic minorities.”
More at “source”.
and for an in-depth report on what’s at stake in this issue see:
https://swarajyamag.com/politics/lingayats-as-minorities-why-it-is-near-impossible-to-remain-a-hindu-and-run-a-school-or-college-in-india