Over 3 decades of his academic and activist life, Professor Kancha Ilaiah has consistently fought against the caste system in the Hindu society. His critical discourse of the Indian socio-political sphere has sparked controversies several times. Prof Ilaiah has also been attacked multiple times for his book ‘Post-Hindu India: A Discourse in Dalit-Bahujan, Socio-Spiritual and Scientific Revolution’.
Last year, when this book was translated in Telugu, Ilaiah was attacked by some members of the Arya Vysya community for a chapter titled ‘Komatollu Samajika Smagglarlu’ (Vaishyas are social smugglers) from this book. However, this attack in 2017 has made the backward classes stand by Prof. Ilaiah. He says, “Now I am prepared to fight it and die. If the writing and civil society discourse is given up on fear, the nation is gone”.
The BJP has been allegedly targeting progressive voices systematically ever since after they came into power. They filed a case against one of Prof. Ilaiah’s articles in 2015. His columns were gradually curbed down in the media. However, the backward classes and the Dalits in India have emerged stronger. They aspire for more even though the political parties have failed to accomodate them and repeatedly betrayed their trust.