WI: Lingayatism in North India

Lingayatism is a monotheistic Shaivite Indian sect. I’m unsure whether you can consider it a Hindu sect, considering it doesn’t agree on the supremacy of the Vedas, but then again, Shiva is considered a Hindu god, and most followers of it consider themselves Hindu. Its also anti-casteism, notably. It’s a predominantly South Indian religion due to the region’s long history of Shaivism, but I don’t think it had to stay in South India. North India had prominent Shaivite communities, most notably Kashmir, which prior to the Muslim invasion was a centre of Shaivism.

But there is an issue. Kashmir was conquered by the Turks, its shrines were destroyed, and its Turkic rulers held such titles as Sikander the Iconoclast, all when Lingayatism was getting started. Kashmir had a notable Hindu communities until the 1990s, but it didn’t come close to a majority of the population. Perhaps if Kashmir wasn’t invaded by Turks, Lingayatism could spread into North India like Bhakti Hinduism centuries ago. The issue with that is an India without Islam would be totally and utterly alien.

For Lingayatism spreading into a more familiar North India, I guess you could increase contacts between the north and South. The Marathas, whose homeland is in an Aryan part of South India, were aggressively attempting to conquer South India before the power vacuum from the Mughal Empire led to their eyes turning northward, so that’s a POD right there. With Lingayat scholars in the Maratha royal court, it’s only a matter of time before North Indians hear of the idea of Lingayatism, something which would appeal to the pretty prominent Kashmiri Hindu community. The result is Lingayatism spreading into a network already rich with many new sects such as Sikhism and Chaitanya Vaishnavism.

Finally, it is an anti-casteism religion. This, no doubt, would appeal to the Dalits who OTL converted to Buddhism for that very reason.
 
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