Siddalingaiah, noted Kannada poet and Dalit voice, passes away at 67 due to COVID-19

Noted Kannada poet Dr Siddalingaiah passed away aged 67 on 11 June, due to COVID-19, reports The Hindu. He was reportedly admitted to Manipal Hospital a month ago and had been on ventilator support for weeks. Born in 1953, Siddalingaiah would go on to become a prominent intellectual and voice of Dalits, writing his debut collection Hole Madigara Hadu in 1975. He was one of the co-founders of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, which he reportedly distanced himself from in recent years. He was also integral to the Dalit Bandaya literary movement, reports The News Minute. He wrote a three-part autobiography titled Ooru Keri which was published in 1997. He was also the author of several plays and critical essays. Siddalingaiah was a professor of Kannada at Bangalore University and was nominated to the state’s legislative assembly. He was the chairman of the Kannada Development Authority in 2006. He served as the chair of the 81st edition of the Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in 2015, making him the first ever Dalit writer to hold this position, reports Deccan Herald. Dr Siddalingaiah’s death was condoled by many on social media, including author Ramachandra Guha and Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa