“Civil society must stand up against this goondaism and demand for security for Prof Kancha Iliah as well as punishment to those issuing open threats, before we have another Gauri Lankesh.”
Kancha Illaiah Shepherd (left), Post-Hindu India. Credit: Facebook
New Delhi: The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) has released a statement condemning the death threats to and “social and political hounding” of political scientist, writer and activist Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd.
Arya Vysya associations have recently been protesting against Shepherd’s book, Samajika Smugglurlu Komatollu, claiming that the title of the book and some of its content are derogatory and demeaning. The BJP has officially condemned the author and the book, while a parliamentarian of the Telugu Desam Party from the Vysya community has sought a change in the laws of the country so the author can be hanged publicly.
SAHMAT’s statement says:
The social and political hounding of Kancha Iliah Shepherd with death threats is another dark page in the recent turn of events, where intellectuals in the country have been at the mercy of hoodlums and fanatics of all hue and color, while the state is a mere bystander. In Professor Iliah’s case the state has gone one step further where Telangana home minister has threatened him with legal action while Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has stated that he will ensure that his book which at the centre of ‘controversy’ will not be allowed in Andhra Pradesh. Prof Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd is the Director, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad. The booklet in question titled ‘Samajik Smugglurlu Komatullu’ (Vysyas are social smuggler) is a reprinted version of a chapter titled ‘Social Smuggler’ from Prof Iliah’s earlier work called ‘Post-Hindu India’ (2009).
The booklet at the center of this row, explains the age old centralization of wealth in the hands of baniya caste in cohoots with Brahmins at the expense of dalit-bahujans and Adivasis. It also explains how due to the monopolization of the wealth by the upper castes makes them completely oblivious to the socioeconomic status of dalit-bahujans and Adivasis and regard them as ‘meritless’. The umbrage taken by the Vysyas community of Andhra and Telangana on the said text, speaks volumes about their social and political dominance and how the same could be used to silence the opposing voice. This reaction of the Vysyas community also underlines the rising intolerance in the country where a work of critical importance and academic repute is physically opposed instead of its being debated, if required.
…The sheer impunity enjoyed by these blood thirsty goons, patronized by their political masters is increasingly being bolstered by the conservative and jingoistic posturing of Narendra Modi government at the centre. After the brutal murder of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dhabolkar, Kalburgi and the recent brutal killing of Gouri Lankesh, this tide of hounding the intellectuals to their brutal death is becoming a new normal. Prof Iliah’s name is the latest in this order, where the act of writing has become threat to the status quo of the dominant castes. Lest we as civil society become conditioned to such targeting and threatening of our intellectuals, we must stand together against this calculated and deliberate suppression of critical voices of our society- voices which are absolutely central to the functioning of a political democracy. Civil society must stand up against this goondaism and demand for security for Prof Kancha Iliah as well as punishment to those issuing open threats, before we have another Gauri Lankesh.
By Shepherd: Explaining the ‘Social Smuggling’ That Has Angered Arya Vysyas in Two States
On September 11, Shepherd filed a complaint at the Osmania University police station in Hyderabad after allegedly receiving threatening phone calls. Shepherd then told the Indian Express, “Since yesterday, many unknown phone calls kept coming and when I answered, they abused me. The International Arya-Vysya Sangham headed by K. Ramakrishna condemned my writings on a TV channel. Someone threatened to cut my tongue. My effigies have been burnt. I feel terribly threatened by their abuses, phone calls and messages. If anything happens to me they will be responsible”.