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Kancha Ilaiah

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Kancha Ilaiah
Born (1952-10-05) 5 October 1952 (age 72)
Papaiahpet, Hyderabad State, India
(now in Telangana, India)
Education
Occupation(s)Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive

Policy (CSSEIP) at Maulana Azad National Urdu University,

Hyderabad
Known forWriter and speaker on Indian political thought
Theorist and activist for the Dalit-Bahujan movements
HonoursMahatma Jyotirao Phule Award

Nehru Fellow 1994-97

Manyawar Kanshiram Smriti Mahanayak Puraskar

Kancha Ilaiah (born 5 October 1952) is an Indian political theorist, Writer, Communist activist and fight for Anti India rights and movements. He is a writer in both English as well as Telugu.

Early life

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Kancha Ilaiah was born in the village of Papaiahpet, Warangal district in erstwhile Hyderabad State. His family belonged to the sheep-grazing Kuruma Golla caste, a community designated by the Government of India as an Other Backward Class group. Ilaiah credited his mother, Kancha Kattamma, as pivotal in shaping his political thought. According to Ilaiah, she was at the forefront of the Shepherds' struggle against the forest guards' discriminatory behaviour. Kancha Kattamma was killed during a violent confrontation while protesting against police brutality.

Kancha Ilaiah is often identified as a Dalit-Bahujan in the news reports, although he is not a Dalit but rather a member of an Other Backward Class.

Professional life

Kancha Ilaiah received an M.A. degree in political science and an M.Phil., awarded for his study of land reform in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He has been a recipient of the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Award and was a Nehru Fellow between 1994-97.

Ilaiah earned a Ph.D on the basis of his work exploring the political dimension of Buddhism, culminating in God as Political Philosopher - Buddha Challenge to Brahminism..

Illaiah 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". In May 2016, in protest against "Brahmanic hegemony" he claims continues to persist in India, Ilaiah appended "Shepherd" to his name. Ilaiah d 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 characterizes his name change as a tool for the upliftment of Dalits.

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

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.

In February 2013, at the Jaipur Literary Festival, Kancha Ilaiah and Javed Akhtar engaged in a heated discussion over the implications of religion in Indian social life.

Ilaiah has also been criticised for believing in the Aryan Invasion theory. In November 2015, Ilaiah stated that if Sardar 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".

Appointments

Among Ilaiah's official appointments have been:

  • Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad
  • 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 Sub Committee to formulate an agenda for land reforms for the XI Five Year Plan
  • Member of the UGC Constitutional Committee to oversee the implementation of OBC reservations in all Central and State universities in India
  • Former member of the Executive Council of Periyar Maniammai University (Tamil Nadu)

Selected publications

English language publications:

Telugu language publications:

  • ఐలయ్య, క. మన తత్వం: దళిత బహుజన తాత్వికత. హైదరాబాద్: హైదరాబాద్ బుక్ ట్రస్ట్

References

  1. ^ "The attempt to censor my writings is part of a larger game plan". Rediff. 24 May 2000. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  2. "How cow protection laws brutalise our culture".
  3. "Kancha Ilaiah". Ambedkar.org. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  4. India's President Ram Nath Kovind takes oath, Aljazeera
  5. Good Shepherd: Dalit thinker Kancha Ilaiah on name, caste, May 27, 2016, Sudipto Mondal , Hindustan Times
  6. "Modi should ask sadhus to clean the streets".
  7. "Introduce English in all schools, says Dalit scholar Kancha Ilaiah".
  8. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/interviews/Kancha-Ilaiah-Even-if-10-dalit-children-got-English-education-India-would-change/articleshow/18503625.cms
  9. "In defence of English: Blame the Indian education system, not the language".
  10. ^ "Good Shepherd: Dalit thinker Kancha Ilaiah on name, caste". Hindustan Times. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  11. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/jaipur-literature-festival-ends-but-controversy-lingers/article4354622.ece
  12. "Who are real Dalits of India".
  13. "If Sardar Patel was PM, India would've become Pakistan: Kancha Ilaiah". Hindustan Times. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  14. "3rd Cycle of Accreditation – NAAC, Self – Study Report, 2013" (PDF). Osmania University. 2013. p. 48. Retrieved 7 August 2016.

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