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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, October 5, said he will recommend to the Union government that Bengaluru’s metro rail network, popularly called Namma Metro, be renamed as ‘Basava Metro’ after 12th-century philosopher and social reformer Basavanna.
The announcement was made at the valedictory ceremony of the Basava Samskruti Abhiyana-2025 in Bengaluru, attended by more than two lakh devotees and over 300 seers and scholars. The event marked the anniversary of Basavanna being declared the state’s cultural leader.
“If this were entirely a state government project, I would have announced it as ‘Basava Metro’ today itself. But since it is a joint project, we will place the proposal before the Union government,” Siddaramaiah said, responding to demands from the gathering. He noted that while Karnataka’s share in the metro project is 87% and the Union’s 13%, approval from Delhi is still required.
The Chief Minister also announced that the state government has approved the establishment of Vachana University, which will come up next year, and said that the replica of Anubhava Mantapa in Basavakalyan, Bidar district, would be completed by 2026. The Mantapa, regarded as the world’s first “religious parliament”, was a forum where saints and philosophers of the Sharana movement, including Basavanna, held discourses.
Siddaramaiah spoke extensively about Basavanna’s ideals, equating them with the values enshrined in the Constitution. “Basavanna’s dream was to build a casteless and classless human society. We are all human beings first, and then Indians. Therefore, we should not tolerate or practice man-made divisions of caste, religion, or inequality,” he said.
Linking Basavanna’s vision to that of BR Ambedkar, he added, “Ambedkar too reiterated Basavanna’s ideals in the Constitution. Thus, the Constitution and Sharana culture are one and the same. Freedom, equality and fraternity — these are the aspirations of both.”
The CM recalled taking oath as Chief Minister on Basava Jayanti and said his government has honoured Basavanna’s legacy by mandating his portrait in government offices and through welfare schemes that benefit all communities. “No caste is higher than the other. Talent and knowledge do not belong to one caste. To deny education because someone is a Shudra is a conspiracy against justice,” he remarked.