New Delhi: A group of Veeerashaiva-Lingayat seers in Karnataka said on June 6, Monday that chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has assured them that he will consider their request for a survey of the ancient ’Peer Pasha Bangla Dargah’ in Basavakalyan in Bidar district by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Hindustan Times reported.

On June 5, some Veerashaiva-Lingayat seers appealed to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to survey the 'Peer Pasha Bangla', claiming that it was the original 'Anubhava Mantapa', the sacred seat of the founder of Lingayat sect and 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara. They claimed that 'Anubhava Mantapa' was allegedly razed and a dargah was built over it.

The first parliament of the world, Anubhava Mantapa now happens to be the Peer Pasha Bangla (Bungalow), which requires immediate protection and a survey by the ASI, the seers said in a joint statement.

The seers, led by Sharanu Salagar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Basavakalyan, and Pradeep Kankanvadi, president of Veerashaiva-Lingayat Sanghatana Vedike, called on Bommai at his residence.

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In their memorandum, the seers said that it has come to their knowledge from local sources as well as documents that 'Peer Pasha Bangla', a dargah or a mausoleum of a Muslim saint, is actually the original 'Anubhava Mantapa'.

The newspaper reported Rajeshwara Shivacharya Swami, one of the seers who was part of the delegation, as saying, “We have submitted the documents about the original Anubhava Mantappa to the chief minister. He has assured us that he will study them, and ask the ASI and the state archaeological department to look into the matter. He also assured us that we will be informed of the findings at the earliest,” he said.

They also demanded that the state should make a proposal to the Union government to release Rs 500 crore for the 'Anubhava Mantapa' corridor under which the sites related to Basaveshwara should be identified and preserved.

They said the 'Anubhava Mantapa' should be developed as a major Lingayat study centre in Basavakalyan.

Lingayat is a major sect and dominant community in Karnataka. Bommai and his immediate predecessor B.S. Yediyurappa, belong to this community.

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The demand for a survey of 'Peer Pasha Bangla' comes as the Karnataka government is facing a backlash over its school curriculum being ‘saffronised’. Chapters on revolutionary and freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, Lingayat social reformer Basavanna, Dravidian movement pioneer Periyar and reformer Narayana Guru have been allegedly removed from the syllabus. The decision was taken by a revision committee, which was constituted in 2020 after the BJP came to power in Karnataka to examine social science and language textbooks.

This also comes against the backdrop of Hindu organisations staging a demonstration in Srirangapatna in Mandya district, demanding a survey of Jamia Masjid, claiming that it was a Hanuman temple, which the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan had razed and built a mosque there.

(With PTI inputs)

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