ABSTRACT
Nineteen sixty-eight was a year of pride and gratitude for the Lingayats, who have made Karnataka State their home. It was the year that concluded eight centuries of the religious movement originated by Basava. Born in 1105 in a Brahman family in Bagevadi, a village in the district of Bijapur, Basava was the founding father of their religion, Lingayatism. 1 The eight hundredth birth anniversary of Basava, inaugurated by the Vice-President of India in New Delhi, was commemorated in virtually every village and town of Karnataka with great enthusiasm and joy.
