About
We are delighted to be hosting an In Conversation With session with Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, the Indian political theorist, writer, and Dalit rights activist.
Ilaiah has written the foreword for the new edition and English transition of the well-known book Gulamgiri, by Jyotirao Phule, who took apart the foundations of the caste system which was, in his view, erected for ‘enslaving’ the majority of India’s population. Gulamgiri contains some of the most consequential few thousand words written in the history of India. First published in 1873 in Marathi, this new and careful translation ensures that none of the nuances and meanings are missed or misunderstood. Kancha has compared Phule to the African American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.
About Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd
Ilaiah writes in both English and Telugu languages. His main domain of study and activism is the annihilation of caste. He is the former director of, the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, and former head of the Department of Political Science at Osmania University, Hyderabad. He is a social activist and political theorist and has been writing in English and Telugu for forty years. His well-known books, Why I Am Not a Hindu, God as a Political Philosopher, Post-Hindu India and Buffalo Nationalism, have played a critical role in shaping shudra, OBC and Dalit discourse in India and abroad.
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”.
While an associate professor at Osmania, several of Ilaiah’s colleagues and academics expressed, in an open letter, their concern about articles he had written in a local newspaper and advised him against writing material that could inflame sectarian discontent or prejudice. In April 2016, Ilaiah made a controversial remark that vegetarianism is anti-nationalism. In 2017, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, banned Ilaiah’s book on the Arya Vysha community for hurting the sentiments of the community after Vysyas community members protested and demanded a ban on the book.
Earlier this year, Ilaiah was disinvited from the Malayala Manorama Arts and Literature Festival scheduled on 1-3 November 2024, in Kozhikode, Kerala, due to fear of protests by pro-Palestine forces. He had written an article in a vernacular daily where he backed the two-nation suggestion as solution for the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd is an important thinker on shudra, OBC and dalit discourse and we are delighted to be hosting his for this special session, in a relaxed Q&A format. Teas, coffees and soft drinks will be served. There is a bar available for purchasing alcoholic drinks.
When: 5:30 pm arrivals, 6 pm start, 7:15 pm networking, Monday 17 March 2025
Where: Central London.
Tickets: £10 for Members, £15 for Non-Members. Max 25 tickets available. To book, email contact@bridgeindia.org.uk.