Karnataka seer calls religious conversion a social evil

Hosapete: Madara Chennaiah Gurupeeth seer Basavamurthy Madara Chennaiah Swami on Sunday said casteism was creating a sense of separation and discord in Hindu society and that the failure to create an ambience of peaceful coexistence was resulting in religious conversions.

Addressing a convention of the Social Harmony Forum, Karnataka North Pranth, he said, “There is no scope for casteism and discrimination in Hindu society. The mutts refuse to understand this. If they continue to neglect, they should not forget that green flags would replace saffron flags atop mutts. Religious conversion is a social evil”.

Apart from marginalised sections like untouchables and Dalits, people from upper echelons are also converting or getting converted. “Why is this happening? What are the reasons? Who’s to blame? It’s time to work towards removing caste barriers and save Hinduism from conversions,” the seer said. “Having drawn inspiration from my guru Vishwesha Theertha of Udupi Pejawar Mutt, I have been holding social harmony walks. I will continue doing so. To me nationalism is paramount and everything else, including religion, caste and peeth are secondary,” he said.