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Based on the theme of caste conflict in Girish Karnad’s play Tale-danda, this article aims to delineate how a sub-sect of a majoritarian (Hindu) community endeavoured to establish itself as a distinct religious group (Lingayatism), failed miserably in its mission, and how it is forced to ultimately merge itself into the larger community. The article will explore the reasons for its failure from the events of Karnad’s play Tale-danda, written against the backdrop of the actual events of the Lingayat Movement led by the poet–saint Basavanna in the twelfth-century CE Karnataka. In the play, Karnad depicts many instances of caste consciousness and caste conflicts among the characters. The main objective of the study will be to analyse these sites of conflict as depicted by Karnad in his play Tale-danda, in light of the French philosopher Michel Foucault’s concepts of power/knowledge and discourse. This article will also highlight how sometimes intra-caste conflicts are more prominent than inter-caste conflicts.