ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on medieval Karaataka, the age when the historical foundations of organized Lingayatism were securely established. Unique among the communities in Karaataka, the Lingayats alone seem successfully to have forged an elaborate institutional infra-structure that has contributed to the preservation and strengthening of their group life and identity. Nineteen sixty-eight was a year of pride and gratitude for the Lingayats, who have made Karnataka State their home. The Lingayats of Karnataka who command numerical, economic, political and socio-cultural strength have been estimated to be around sixty lakhs strong. The rural as well as the urban population of Karnataka is characterized by cultural pluralism, evolved through the centuries from a multiplicity of religious, caste and linguistic groups. The Lingayats have displayed a remarkable capacity over the years for harmonious co-existence with other socio-cultural groups as well as for preservation of their religious-cultural homogeneity and identity.
