Religious Politics Video: Why has the Karnataka government given a separate religion status to the Lingayat community? Lingayats are a politically and electorally powerful community in Karnataka. Smitha Nair Mar 20, 2018 · 07:00 am Play Editor: Sanjeev Nair| Producer: Shibika Suresh| Designers: Shruti Rego, Kimberly Pereira We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in. Karnataka Lingayat Religion Minority Siddaramaiah Basavanna