GAURI LANKESH writes: “Samvada Vedike” has organised a talk today (Thursday, May 10) on the book ‘Anu deva horaganavanu‘ by its author, Banjagere Jayaprakash. The book makes the controversial claim that Basavanna, the 12th century reformer, was not a Brahmin but a lower caste maadiga.
Prof. Chandrashekar Patil (Champa), president, Kannada Sahitya Parishat; Dr. L. Hanumanthaiah, poet and legislator; Dr. Basavaraj Kalgudi, Kannada department, Bangalore University, will respond.
The venue is Lankesh Building, No.9, East Anjaneya Temple road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore. Time 6 p.m. Phone 26676427 or further details.
IJR 
A brahmin lady once asked me ‘Dr.Raj must be a Brahmin in this birth or previous birth ..since his language is so refined’
Then I realized what a brahmin actually is 🙂
Dr.Banjagere Jayaprakash’s claim that Basavanna was not a Brahmin has come under serious attack. I saw some protagonists of the author blaming this controversy on “brahmana manassina tolalata”. In fact, none of the prople who are protesting and contesting the claim of this author are Brahmins. Without exception, everyone who is questioning the correctness of this claim is a Veerashaiva. Why call this duality or ambiguity suffered by Brahmins?
Irrespective of who raises the issue, my question to the author is this: If Basavanna was indeed an untouchable, how was his presence as a minister of Bijjala accepted in the Court, during that orthodox age?
What basavanaa preached is that no caste bar, all caste are same nor brahmin are superior or others inferior…….. Why this un neccessary discussion about the basavanna birth.
Basavanna belongs to madiga community. Brahmins never go away from hinduism because hinduism and hindus means brahmins and brahmins means hindus and non others basavanna weared linga and become lingayath any one can become lingayath if you wear linga but you cant become brahmin though you wear janiwaara and brahmins are evil minded and they never change they always thinking of suppressing shudra not even newly born baby of brahmins speak against tradition of hindusim. Basavanna who born to madiga parents had keen intrest in learning but learning for madigas was prohibited but he did not lived his desire he went to many teachers but non of the teachers taught him so he decided to tell lie and it was one and the only solution for his problems so he prepared the story that he was born in brahmin family but i boycot the tradition and come away from home if he continued to tell the truth we would have lost the great person basavanna the castism made him to tell lie. The good example is that Micheal jackson changed his skin coloured from black to white only because of apartheid that what happened in life of Great Basavanna.