Hyderabad Police registers case against Dalit writer Kancha Ilaiah for 'hurting religious feelings'

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Police has registered a case against prominent Dalit writer Kancha Ilaiah for allegedly hurting religious feelings through his book on the Arya Vysya community, an official said. A scheduled caste student had earlier alleged that Ilaiah, through his book ‘Samajika Smugglurlu Komatollu’ (Vysyas are social smugglers), not only targeted the Vysya community, but all Hindu communities and hurt the sentiments of the dalits and others, Malkajgiri Police Station Inspector Janaki Reddy said on Thursday. The 22-year-old complainant had approached a local court and based on its directions, the police Thursday registered the case against Ilaiah, he said. He said the case was registered under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. [caption id=“attachment_2728676” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Kancha Ilaiah. Image Courtesy: Facebook/Kancha Ilaiah[/caption] In the complaint, the student claimed that Ilaiah targeted all Hindu communities with a view to divide and wedge a rift in the Hindu society by taking advantage of caste systems, which is intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religious beliefs, according to the officer. The Arya Vysya community had accused Ilaiah of writing a “derogatory” book on the community and its content had triggered protests in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with community members taking to streets. The writer had last month lodged a police complaint alleging threat to his life over the book. He claimed that he received threatening and abusive phone calls from unidentified persons, after which a case was registered. He had also filed a police complaint at Parkal in Warangal alleging that four people had attacked his vehicle and tried to kill him. The alleged attack had sparked tension between Arya Vysyas and Dalits who came face to face. However, the police had then averted any escalation by dispersing the groups. The Arya Vysya associations had alleged that the title of the book and some of its contents were “derogatory and demeaning” to the community and they are demanding Ilaiah’s apology as well as withdrawal of the book. The writer had recently said he was ready to withdraw the book if the community is prepared to implement a 5 per cent quota for the marginalised sections in their establishments.