A 22-year-old seer, who had been living in a mutt in Chamarajanagar in Karnataka, left the mutt on Monday (4th August), after locals found out about his Muslim identity. The seer named Nijalinga Swamy had arrived at the Gurumalleshwara Shakha mutt located in Gundulpet taluka six weeks ago. His Muslim identity was exposed last week after a devotee saw his photos wearing a skull cap and holding a beer in his hand.
The expose occurred after a local devotee requested the seer to lend him his spare mobile phone as his phone had stopped working. The seer, who had two mobile phones, gave the devotee his older phone. When the devotee went through the phone, he saw the seer’s pictures wearing a skull cap and holding a beer. The devotees swiftly informed the other devotees of the mutt, who were shocked to hear the information.
Soon the devotees confronted him about his Muslim identity, the seer admitted that he was a Muslim before joining the Lingayat sect. His Aadhaar Card also mentioned his birth name, Mohammad Nisar. He clarified that the pictures were from the time before he became a Lingayat. He said that he had not drunk beer since he converted. However, the devotees, who felt betrayed for keeping them in the dark, asked him to step down.
The seer claimed a became a Lingayat five years ago
Nijalinga Swamy was born a Muslim named Mohammad Nisar in Yadgir district. As per reports, he was influenced by the teachings of Lingayat social reformer Basavanna. He is said to have taken his vows five years ago, at the age of 17. Nisar said that he was inclined towards Basavanna since childhood, and this worried his Muslim parents, who sent him to a madrassa. “At a very young age, I was attracted towards Basavanna and his ideas. I used to perform puja just like any Lingayat. My parents were frightened, and they sent me to a madrassa to study. It gave me another dimension, and at the age of 17, I took deeksha (initiation) to become a Lingayat,” the seer told Indian Express.
Nisar expressed his resolution to continue to follow Basavanna’s ideology. Another Lingayat mutt in Rane Bennur (Haveri district) has reportedly given him shelter. “I left my parents and Islam only because I believe in Basavanna’s ideology. I will continue to do so, and nobody can stop me from doing that. A lot of seers and people from the Lingayat community have come to my support. In fact, another Lingayat mutt in Rane Bennur (Haveri district) has given me shelter now. I will continue to follow Basavanna and his ideas,” Swamy said. He said that some people have levelled false accusations of financial misappropriation against him after his past identity was revealed. “I will not give up, but will live the rest of my life to propagate Basavanna’s ideas,” he asserted.
Nisar said his well-wishers advised him to conceal his Muslim identity
After taking deeksha from his Guru, Nisar became a Lingayat. He started following Lingayat rituals at a mutt in Basavakalyan, Bidar. An Australia-based philanthropist named Mahadev Prasad had donated land to build a mutt in Chamarajanagar district’s Chowdahalli, on which the Gurumalleshwara Shakha mutt was established. Mohammad Nisar, who had become Nijalinga Swamy and was following Lingayat rituals at a mutt in Basavakalyan, Bidar, after taking diksha from his Guru, was appointed at the Gurumalleshwara Shakha mutt. He said that his Guru suggested his name for appointment at the mutt. He added that some well-wishers advised him not to reveal his past Muslim identity and work for the betterment of the mutt.
In a similar case in 2020, a 33-year-old former autorickshaw driver Diwan Sharief Rahimsab Mulla took deeksha and became the fourth Muslim to head a Lingayat mutt in 300 years.
