Kancha Ilaiah
Indian scholar, activist and writer (born 1952)
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd (born 5 October 1952) is an Indian political theorist, writer and a Dalit rights activist. He is a former professor of political science at Osmania University and was the Director of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at Maulana Azad National Urdu University. He writes in both English and Telugu languages. His main domain of study and activism are the annihilation of caste.
Early life
Kancha Ilaiah was born in the village of Papaiahpet of Chennaraopet mandal, Warangal district in present-day Telangana. He belongs to the Kuruma sheepherd caste, a community of herders, designated as an Other Backward Class. Ilaiah's father Kancha Komuraiah was always away from home while grazing sheep. The dominant figure in the family was his mother. Ilaiah credited his mother, Kancha Kattamma, as pivotal in shaping his political thought.
Ilaaih suffixed 'Shepherd' to his name symbolically, as he comes from a shepherding family.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3521353. VIAF identifies the subject as 59871657. The Library of Congress control number is n89101868. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1952.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kancha Ilaiah” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.