This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ikonoblast (talk | contribs) at 06:44, 21 August 2006 (→External links: ----Link recovered). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 06:44, 21 August 2006 by Ikonoblast (talk | contribs) (→External links: ----Link recovered)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Kancha Ilaiah is a prominent anti-caste social activist and author. He was born into Kuruma Golla (which is an 'other backward caste' , not dalit) family on October 5 1952 and was brought up in a small south Indian village. His family's main profession was sheep farming. He earned his doctorate degree in political science at the Osmania University in Hyderabad, India. His Ph. D thesis was based on Gautama Buddha's Political Philosophy.
Dr. Kancha Ilaiah is currently Professor and Chairman of Political Science, Osmania University.
He is an outspoken activist in the Dalit-Bahujan (Scheduled and Backwards Castes) movement. A critic of the Hindu religion, he boldly criticized the practices of caste and untouchability. Recently he testified before the U.S. Congress against the practice of untouchability and urged the US Government to work with the Indian government to end persecution against Muslims,Christians, and all other oppressed people groups in India.
He joined hands in this campaign with the All India Christian Council, headed by Dr. Joseph D'Souza and other human rights activists of India . Ilaiah and D'Souza are also associated with the USA based Dalit Freedom Network, an independent charitable organization working for the rights of India's poorest and moste oppressed people, the Dalits. This organization actively participated in the Californian Hindu textbook controversy to oppose edits proposed by radical Hindutva groups.
According to Joseph D'souza, Kancha Ilaiah has served as the "influential ideologue" for the "Quit Hinduism" movement leading to a mass rally on Dec 6th, 2002 .
He is the author of several books written in English, including
- Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra critique of Hindutva philosophy, culture and political economy
- God as Political Philosopher--Buddha's Challenge to Brahminism
- Democracy in India --- A Hollow Shell (edited by Arthur Bonner)
- Buffalo Nationalism--A critique of spiritual fascism
His book, Why I Am Not A Hindu has been a best-seller in India and is widely read around the world. However, it has also drawn severe condemnations from many members of the upper-castes, who have called the book a shallow understanding of Hindu religion and blissful ignorance of several aspects of its philosophy and mythology.
The book basically explains the life-experience of the Dalits and Other Backward Castes and how their poverty-ridden experience holds little connection to the Brahmin religious experience. By explaining this dichotomy from his own personal experience as an OBC, he advocates the "Dalitization" of Indian culture. As Ilaiah explains it, the Dalit philosophy prizes productivity over personal pleasure and values the graciousness of community over the elevation of Brahmin men at the expense of women and Dalits/OBCs. Ilaiah asserts that this shift in societal thinking will enable India to become a more prosperous and egalitarian society.
Ilaiah has often been criticised for what some call rabid, anti-Brahmin rhetoric and hypocritical methods of argument. However, others who support his rejection of Brahmin oppression appreciate what they consider to be bold sarcasm as a much needed force against the dichotemy of caste.
Kancha Ilaiah's views on Hinduism: Quotes
- "Yes, I hate Hinduism".
- "Hinduism is a religion of violence".
- "For Hinduism, for Hindu dharma, resolving of a conflict is only by killing".
- "If a Dalitist state and society is established I think we will see a very bright future for the whole country."
- "Hinduism has destroyed all positive elements that normally exist in a human being"
External links
- Interview-1
- Interview-2
- Interview-3
- Kancha Illiah-4
- A Critical Review by Shri M. V. R. Sastry-5
- Interview-6
- Ilaiah's article on reservations-7
- David Frawley-8
See also
 | This Indian biographical article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |