Kancha Ilaiah - Revision history

->HinduKshatrana: rmvd, ambedkar[dot]org is not a reliable source.

2021-12-24T15:52:09Z

rmvd, ambedkar[dot]org is not a reliable source.

>Portuportu2: Filled in 14 bare reference(s) with reFill 2

2021-09-14T11:40:41Z

Filled in 14 bare reference(s) with reFill 2

imported>Materialscientist: Reverted edits by Dinesh2069 (talk) to last version by Sharkslayer87

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Reverted edits by Dinesh2069 (talk) to last version by Sharkslayer87

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{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kancha Ilaiah
| image = Kancha Ilaiah klf.jpg
| image_size =
| alt = Kancha Ilaiah at [[Kerala Literature Festival]] in 2018
| caption = Ilaiah at [[Kerala Literature Festival]] in 2018
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1952|10|5}}
| birth_place = Papaiahpet, [[Warangal]], [[Hyderabad State]], India (now in [[Telangana]], India)
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = {{Plainlist|
* [[Osmania University]] {{small|(M.A. Political Science)}}
* Osmania University {{small|(M.Phil Political Science)}}
}}
| occupation = Retired Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive
Policy (CSSEIP) at [[Maulana Azad National Urdu University]],
Hyderabad
| known_for = Writer and speaker on Indian political thought
| awards = Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Award
Nehru Fellow 1994-97
Manyawar Kanshiram Smriti Mahanayak Puraskar
| spouse =
}}

'''Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd''' (born 5 October 1952) is an Indian [[political theorist]], prolific writer and a [[Dalit]] rights activist. He writes in both English and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] languages. His main domain of study and activism is the annihilation of caste.<ref>https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/taking-aim-at-the-messenger/article19797679.ece</ref>

==Early life==
{{Criticism of religion sidebar}}
Kancha Ilaiah was born in the village of Papaiahpet, [[Warangal district]] of [[Chennaraopet]] Mandal in [[Hyderabad]], [[Telangana]] State.<ref name="rediff">{{cite news |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/may/24ap.htm |work=Rediff |title=The attempt to censor my writings is part of a larger game plan |date=24 May 2000 |access-date=16 December 2014}}</ref> His family belonged to the sheep-grazing [[Golla (caste)|Kuruma Golla]] caste, a community designated by the Government of India as an [[Other Backward Class]].<ref name="Kancha Ilaiah" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/how-a-caste-reference-in-his-2009-book-has-come-back-to-haunt-kancha-ilaiah/story-q7EbiFUWXbW902JDn5u1MI.html|title=How a caste reference in his 2009 book has come back to haunt Kancha Ilaiah}}</ref> Ilaiah's father Kancha Komuraiah was always away from home while grazing sheep.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-16|title=How anti-caste activist Kancha Ilaiah's mother was an inspiration for his rebellion|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/how-anti-caste-activist-kancha-ilaiah-s-mother-was-inspiration-his-rebellion-133170|access-date=2021-03-10|website=The News Minute|language=en}}</ref> The dominant figure in the family was his mother. Ilaiah credited his mother, Kancha Kattamma, as pivotal in shaping his political thought.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-cow-protection-laws-brutalise-our-culture/articleshow/53691544.cms|title=How cow protection laws brutalise our culture}}</ref> According to Ilaiah, she was at the forefront of the Kurumas' struggle against the [[forest range officer|forest guards']] discriminatory behaviour. Kancha Kattamma was killed during a violent confrontation while protesting against police brutality.<ref name="Kancha Ilaiah">{{cite web |url=http://www.ambedkar.org/reformers/KanchaIlaiah.htm |title=Kancha Ilaiah |publisher=Ambedkar.org |date=16 November 2000 |access-date=2013-12-04}}</ref>

Ilaaih suffixed 'Shepherd' to his name symbolically, as he comes from a shepherding family.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shepherd|first=Kancha Ilaiah|title=The violence of caste: Why I have changed my name to Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd|url=http://scroll.in/article/808890/kancha-ilaiah-explains-why-he-decided-to-add-shepherd-to-his-name|access-date=2021-05-13|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Professional life==
Ilaiah received an M.A. degree in [[political science]] and an M.Phil., awarded for his study of [[land reform in India|land reform]] in undivided [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name=rediff/> He has been a recipient of the [[Mahatma Jyotirao Phule]] Award and was a [[Jawarharlal Nehru Fellowship|Nehru Fellow]] between 1994 and 1997.<ref name=rediff/>

Ilaiah earned a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D]] on the basis of his work exploring the political dimension of [[Buddhism in India|Buddhism]], culminating in ''God as Political Philosopher - Buddha's Challenge to Brahminism''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/modi-should-ask-sadhus-to-clean-the-streets/article8830075.ece|title=Modi should ask sadhus to clean the streets}}</ref>

Ilaiah has encouraged proficiency in the English language for Dalits, arguing that it would allow Dalits in India to intellectually engage the world outside India without non-Dalits speaking "for them".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Introduce English in all schools, says Kancha Ilaiah|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2016/aug/08/Introduce-English-in-all-schools-says-Kancha-Ilaiah-1506820.html|access-date=2020-10-31|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref><ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/interviews/Kancha-Ilaiah-Even-if-10-dalit-children-got-English-education-India-would-change/articleshow/18503625.cms</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://scroll.in/article/808852/in-defense-of-english-blame-the-education-system-not-the-language|title=In defence of English: Blame the Indian education system, not the language}}</ref> In May 2016, in protest against "Brahmanic hegemony" he says continues to persist in India, Ilaiah appended "Shepherd" to his name. Ilaiah identified in this choice recognition and reaffirmation of his family origins. As an English-language proper noun rather than its equivalent in an Indian language, "Shepherd" is meant to demonstrate a symbolic break with the cultural norms Ilaiah believed Brahmins sought to "impose" on Indian society. Ilaiah characterises his name change as a tool to break these norms and to value the work of what he terms "productive classes:" including Scheduled Castes and OBCs.<ref name="hindustantimes1">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/we-need-a-new-god-says-dalit-thinker-kancha-ilaiah/story-ooWKO6iUKLAXv7qFqEW4ML.html |title=Good Shepherd: Dalit thinker Kancha Ilaiah on name, caste |work=Hindustan Times |date=2016-05-27 |access-date=2016-07-18}}</ref>

Kancha Ilaiah is an [[Ambedkarite]].<ref>https://www.dailyo.in/voices/kancha-ilaiah-dalit-gauri-lankesh-br-ambedkar/story/1/19836.html</ref><ref>https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/the-ethereal-realist/280966</ref><ref>https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2019/06/21/gandhi-was-not-a-caste-abolitionist-kancha-ilaiah-shepherd.html</ref> As an anti-caste activist,<ref name="rediff" /> Ilaiah is often misidentified by the media as being a Dalit himself.<ref>{{cite news|title=India's President Ram Nath Kovind takes oath|work=www.aljazeera.com|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/india-president-ram-nath-kovind-takes-oath-170725074458219.html}}</ref> Ilaiah identifies himself as a [[Shudra|Sudra]] intellectual.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mondal |first1=Sudipto |title=Good Shepherd: Dalit thinker Kancha Ilaiah on name, caste |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/we-need-a-new-god-says-dalit-thinker-kancha-ilaiah/story-ooWKO6iUKLAXv7qFqEW4ML.html |access-date=21 January 2020 |work=Hindustan Times |date=27 May 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

Currently, Ilaiah is serving as retired director of the Centre for Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at [[Maulana Azad National Urdu University]] (MANUU) in [[Hyderabad]].

Ilaiah has also spoken against caste inequality. BJP govt doesn't want his books because he talks about caste equality when his books were slated to be removed from Delhi University.<ref>https://theprint.in/india/governance/bjp-govt-doesnt-want-my-books-because-i-talk-of-caste-equality-dalit-writer-kancha-ilaiah/146823/</ref>

==Criticism==
While working as an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at [[Osmania University]], several of Ilaiah's colleagues as well as academics affiliated with the university expressed, in an open-letter, their concern with respect to certain articles and opinions Ilaiah had contributed to a local newspaper and advised him against writing material that could inflame sectarian discontent or prejudice.<ref name=rediff/>

In February 2013, at the [[Jaipur Literary Festival]], Ilaiah and [[Javed Akhtar]] engaged in a heated discussion over the implications of religion in Indian social life.<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/jaipur-literature-festival-ends-but-controversy-lingers/article4354622.ece</ref>

Ilaiah has also been criticised by right wing [[Hindutva]] activists for accepting the [[Indo-Aryan migration#"Aryan invasion"|Aryan invasion theory]].<ref name="hindustantimes1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/18franc.htm|title=Who are real Dalits of India}}</ref> In November 2015, Ilaiah stated that if [[Vallabhbhai Patel]], the first Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of India credited with forging national unity amidst the intense violence and bloodletting that followed the creation of Pakistan, had been Prime Minister of India, India "would have become Pakistan".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/if-sardar-patel-was-pm-india-would-ve-become-pakistan-kancha-ilaiah/story-l3SqCY5Dqta6uu0TeLIYHJ.html |title=If Sardar Patel was PM, India would've become Pakistan: Kancha Ilaiah |work=Hindustan Times |date=2015-11-30 |access-date=2016-07-18}}</ref>

In April 2016, Ilaiah gave a controversial remark that vegetarianism is [[anti-nationalism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/politics/vegetarians-are-anti-national-kancha-ilaiahs-hyperbole-illustrating-ambedkars-food-democracy-2728650.html|title=Vegetarianism is anti-nationalism: Kancha Ilaiah on Ambedkar's food democracy}}</ref> On 18 September 2017, [[T. G. Venkatesh]], a member of [[Indian Parliament]] representing the [[Telugu Desam Party]] and a prominent leader of the [[Arya Vysya]] said at a press conference that Ilaiah was a traitor and should be hanged because his writings were "intended to divide society."<ref>{{cite web|title=TD MP TG Venkatesh says 'Hang ilaiah' for his book|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/politics/180917/td-mp-tg-venkatesh-says-hang-ilaiah-for-his-book.html|publisher=The Deccan Chronicle|access-date=2018-01-04}}</ref> Ilaiah alleged that the members of Arya Vysya community had tried to kill him and lodged a police complaint when Arya Vysya community members attacked his car in 2017.<ref>https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2017/sep/24/after-vehicle-pelted-with-stones-kancha-ilaiah-files-plaint-says-death-threats-against-him-1661914.html</ref><ref>https://scroll.in/latest/851750/writer-kancha-ilaiah-says-his-car-was-attacked-with-stones-in-telangana</ref>

==Appointments==
Among Ilaiah's official appointments have been:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osmania.ac.in/Naac%20Dept%20Evoluation/Social%20Sciences.pdf|title=3rd Cycle of Accreditation – NAAC, Self – Study Report, 2013|page=48|date=2013|publisher=Osmania University|access-date=7 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314190854/http://www.osmania.ac.in/Naac%20Dept%20Evoluation/Social%20Sciences.pdf|archive-date=14 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
*Retired Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad
*Former Head of Department, Political Science, [[Osmania University]], Hyderabad<ref name="rediff" />
*Member of National Research Committee constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice, New Delhi
*Member – [[Indian Council of Social Science Research]] (ICSSR), New Delhi
*Former Member of the [[National Book Trust]], Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, New Delhi for three years
*Member of the [[Planning Commission (India)|Planning Commission]] Sub Committee to formulate an agenda for land reforms for the [[XI Five Year Plan]]
*Member of the [[University Grants Commission (India)|UGC]] Constitutional Committee to oversee the implementation of OBC reservations in all [[Central University (India)|Central]] and [[State university (India)|State universities]] in India
*Former member of the Executive Council of [[Periyar Maniammai University]] (Tamil Nadu)

==Selected publications==

English language publications:
*Ilaiah, K. ''Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra critique of Hindutva philosophy, culture and political economy'' (Calcutta: Samya, 1996) {{ISBN|8185604185}}
*Ilaiah, K. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VO29HpufYUgC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en God as Political Philosopher: Buddha's Challenge to Brahminism]'' (Calcutta: Samya, 2001) {{ISBN|8185604444}}
*Ilaiah, K. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=obg96BoDD4QC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism]'' (Calcutta: Samya, 2004) {{ISBN|818560469X}}
*Ilaiah, K., & Vyam, D. (2007). ''Turning the Pot, Tilling the Land: Dignity of Labour in Our Times''. Pondicherry: Navayana Pub. {{ISBN|9788189059095}} {{OCLC|184927533}}
*Ilaiah, K. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DpSHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PR26&hl=en Post-Hindu India: A Discourse in Dalit-Bahujan Socio-Spiritual and Scientific Revolution]'' (SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd, 2009) {{ISBN|9788132104339}}
*Ilaiah, K. '' Untouchable God: A Novel on Caste and Race ''(Kolkata: Samya, 2011) {{ISBN|9788185604336}} {{OCLC|828612357}}
*Ilaiah, K (1989-01-01). ''The State and Repressive Culture: The Andhra Experience''. Hyderabad: Swecha Prachuranalu. {{OCLC|21518320}}
*Bonner, A., Ilaiah, K., Saha, S. K., Engineer, A. A., & Heuze, G. (1994). ''Democracy in India: A Hollow Shell''. Washington D.C: The American University Press. {{ISBN|1879383268}} {{OCLC|470188534}}
*Ilaiah, K; [[Nehru Memorial Museum & Library|Nehru Memorial Museum and Library]]; Centre for Contemporary Studies (1995-01-01). ''Caste or Class or Caste-class: A study in Dalitabhujan Consciousness and Struggles in Andhra Pradesh in 1980s'']. New Delhi: Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library {{OCLC|436463940}}
*Ilaiah, K., & Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. (1996). ''In Search of the Roots of Anti-Caste Struggle: A Dalitist Reading of the Buddhist Discourse''. New Delhi: Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. {{OCLC|863611670}}
*Ilaiah, K., & Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. (1997). ''Productive Labour, Consciousness and History: The Dalitabahujan Alternative''. New Delhi: Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. {{OCLC|793342817}}
*Ilaiah, K (1999-01-01). ''Reservations: Experience as Framework of Debate'' {{OCLC|606215716}}
*D'Souza, J., Ilaiah, K., Raj, U., & Dalit Freedom Network. (2004). ''Dalit Freedom: Now and Forever; The Epic Struggle for Dalit Forever''. {{OCLC|930036331}}
*Nisar, [[Meena Kandasamy|M., Kandasamy]], M., & Ilaiah, K. (2007). '' Ayyankali: Dalit Leader of Organic Protest''. Calicut, Kerala: Other Books. {{ISBN|9788190388764}} {{OCLC|437026595}}
*Ilaiah, K (2010-01-01). ''The Weapon of the Other: Dalitbahujan Writings and the Remaking of Indian Nationalist Thought''. Delhi: Longman. {{ISBN|9788177582468}} {{OCLC|502268560}}

Telugu language publications:
*ఐలయ్య, క. ''మన తత్వం: దళిత బహుజన తాత్వికత''. హైదరాబాద్: హైదరాబాద్ బుక్ ట్రస్ట్

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Kancha Ilaiah}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.christiantoday.com/article/interview.with.dr.kancha.ilaiah.leading.dalit.rights.campaigner.in.india/4495.htm Christianity Today interview with Ilaiah] "Leading Dalit Rights Campaigner in India"
*"[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011902412.html One Man Takes Aim At Prejudice With Storybook]" Washington Post feature on Ilaiah's children's book.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170425141125/http://www.proxsa.org/resources/ghadar/v1n2/ilaiah.html ''Ghadar'' interview] "The State of Dalit Mobilization: An Interview with Kancha Ilaiah"
*[http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1023204 DNA India Interview with Ilaiah] "Institutes like [[Indian Institutes of Technology|IITs]] and [[Indian Institutes of Management|IIMs]] should be closed down"
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060708072143/http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2006&leaf=06&filename=10213&filetype=pdf Article by Ilaiah] "Merit of Reservations"
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170912192728/http://naradanews.com/2016/05/intellectuals-express-solidarity-with-kancha-ilaiah-hindutva-hurting-dignity-and-sentiments/ Intellectuals Express Solidarity With Kancha Ilaiah]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilaiah, Kancha}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:Anti-Hindu sentiment]]
[[Category:Ambedkarites]]
[[Category:Civil rights activists]]
[[Category:Dalit activists]]
[[Category:Indian male essayists]]
[[Category:Indian political scientists]]
[[Category:Indian political writers]]
[[Category:Indian socialists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Warangal]]
[[Category:Writers from Hyderabad, India]]
[[Category:English-language writers from India]]
[[Category:Activists from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Osmania University alumni]]