Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday (18th October) attacked Hinduism and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of Mysore University. He advised people to “stay away from Sanatanis” and claimed that those following Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) oppose social change.
“Keep your company right. Associate with those who stand for society, not with those who oppose social change or with Sanatanis,” he said.
In recent years, Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah, Priyank Kharge and Mallikarjun Kharge have repeatedly argued that India should be the land of Basavanna, Buddha and Ambedkar, all invoked in political contexts that distance themselves from Hinduism.
The Chief Minister went on to link the recent shoe-throwing incident at Chief Justice of India, BR Gavai. He said that a Sanatani threw a shoe at the CJI, who is a Dalit. “The fact that a ‘Sanatani’ threw a shoe at the Chief Justice shows that ‘Sanatanis’ and orthodox elements still exist in society. This act should be condemned not just by Dalits but by everyone. Only then can we say that society is moving on the path of change,” Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah also claimed that the RSS historically opposed the Constitution made by Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. He accused the RSS of spreading misinformation about Ambedkar’s political legacy. “They are spreading lies that the Congress defeated Ambedkar in the elections. But the truth is what Ambedkar himself wrote in his own handwriting, ‘Savarkar and Dange defeated me.’ Such truths must be placed before society to expose the falsehoods of the Sangh Parivar,” Siddaramaiah claimed.
It does not matter what Basava, Buddha or Ambedkar personally said; the politics built around their names today largely represents an anti-Hindu narrative. Siddaramaiah’s remarks fit into the same pattern of portraying Sanatan Dharma as regressive and exclusionary.
Recently, sections of the Lingayat community, who trace their roots to Basavanna’s teachings, were urged to identify themselves as “Veerashaivas” instead of “Hindus” in official surveys, further fuelling debates over attempts to fragment Hindu identity.
Notably, Siddaramaiah’s son, Yatindra Siddaramaiah, had earlier attempted to malign the RSS by comparing it to the Taliban. He alleged that the RSS wants to impose Hinduism just like how the Taliban issues orders to impose the tenets of Islam.
Siddaramaiah’s statements, while framed as social reformist, align with Congress’s ongoing attempts to reframe Karnataka’s cultural identity away from Hinduism under the pretext of progressive politics.
