Maate Mahadevi death anniversary: Why was her book 'Basava Vachana Deepthi' banned ?

Jagadguru Mate Mahadevi, a prominent woman pontiff of Lingayat community and seer of Lingayat matha Basava Dharma Peetha was born on 13 March 1946.

She was the first woman Jagadguru of the Lingayat community.

By 1983 she had published twenty books and started an educational and religious institution by the name of Jaganmata Akka Mahadevi Ashrama in Karnataka, whose aim was providing education and spiritual upliftment to girls and women.

However, in 1998, her book titled 'Basava Vachana Deepthi' was banned after the State of Karnataka invoked Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which permits the state to suspend publications that it deems to be in violation of certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On September 20, 2017 the apex court upheld a ban on a book, a decision which was criticised by many for the implications it would have on free speech.

Her book was banned because she changed Basavanna’s pen name from ‘Kudalasangamadeva’ to ‘Lingadeva,’ which was believed to harm religious sentiments.

According to the government, changing the pen name of Basaveshwara from 'Kudalasangamadeva' to 'Lingadeva,' would inevitably hurt the sentiments of the 'Veerashaiva' community in the state.

Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha was a party in the Supreme Court case and had supported the ban. However, the Mahasabha's President BS Sachidananda Murthy had claimed that many more books containing the same “distortion” are still being sold in the market