Dr. Kancha Ilaiah is a professor and former head of the Department of Political Science at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India.
Dr. Ilaiah is the author of Why I am Not a Hindu: A Critique of Sudra Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy, published in 1996. He has also published God As Political Philosopher: Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism, Democracy In India: A Hollow Shell (co-authored), The State and Repressive Culture, Manatatwam (Our Philosophy), and Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique Of Spiritual Fascism and Post-Hindu India.
In 1985, when starvation deaths occurred in a poverty-ridden district called Mahabubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India, he established free feeding centers for the starving masses, started a massive campaign against caste atrocities in India, and campaigned against state repression of the Dalit-Bahujan people in India.
For the last 30 years, Dr. Ilaiah has campaigned against the practice of “untouchability” and illiteracy in India. He lives in Hyderabad.