The Social Origins of Vachana: Interview with L. Hanumanthaiah, Kannada Poet and Scholar
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The Social Origins of Vachana: Interview with L. Hanumanthaiah, Kannada Poet and Scholar

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In conversation with L. Hanumanthaiah, Kannada poet and scholar on Veerashaivism

L. Hanumanthaiah, Kannada poet and scholar, speaks of the social origins and preoccupations of the Vachana movement, and the advent of Veerashaivism as a social solvent of the caste system. He notes the present reification of Veerashaivism as being contrary to its original impetus, and stresses on the need for a revival of its erstwhile progressive outlook. He highlights the multiple points of differences between Veerashaivism and Hinduism—social organisation, systems of governance, labour and language—while commenting on the egalitarian traditions of the Vachana movement in Kannada literature.