Telangana police have filed a case against Prof Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd on charges of promoting enmity between groups, based on a complaint filed by a 22-year-old Dalit student.
The complainant K Nagaraju, a resident of Moula Ali, in his complaint claimed that through his book, ‘Saamajika Smugglerlu: Komatollu’ (Social Smugglers: Komattis), Kancha Ilaiah not only targeted the Arya Vysyas but the entire Hindu religion.
In his complaint, he alleged that Kancha’s aim is to convert all the marginalized communities—SCs, STs and OBCs to Christianity, and get lakhs of funds from foreign countries.
He further alleged that Kancha insulted the SC community in his book, where the writer put forth his view that, “Dalitbahujans should enter into business field and Vysyas should do farming and be sent to borders to safeguard the country.”
Nagaraju calls asking the marginalised communities (SC,ST, BCs) to enter into business field, dominated by the Vysya community, a discrimination.
Speaking to TNM, Malkajgiri Inspector, Janaki Reddy said that a case under sections 153A(a) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence and language), 153B(a) (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 509 IPC (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and Section 3 of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act-1989 has been filed.
Prof. Kancha Ilaiah is under attack from the Vysya community, who are offended by his book and for calling them ‘social smugglers’.
He recently had met Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma seeking police protection, after an attempted attack by the Vysya community members.
The booklet ‘Saamajika Smugglerlu: Komatollu’ is the Telugu translation of his English book Post-Hindu India, written in 2009.
He was a professor from the political science department from Osmania University and is currently the Director of Centre for Social Exclusion and Inclusive policy at Moulana Azad National Urdu University.