Siddalingaiah
Padma Shri honours were given to Siddalingaiah from Karnataka in the literature and education category. He is an accomplished playwright, poet, and a significant member of the Dalit-Bandaya literary movement in Karnataka.
Who is Siddalingaiah ?
In 1953, Siddalingaiah was born in the Ramanagara district’s Magadi. In 1989, he earned his doctorate with a thesis on “Village Deities” after receiving his MA from Bangalore University. He was a Dalit activist, playwright, and poet from India who wrote in the Kannada language. He is credited with founding both the Dalit literature genre and the Dalit-Bandaya movement in Kannada. Along with B. Krishnappa, he helped create the Dalita Sangharsh Samiti.
He joined the Karnataka Legislative Council in 1988 at the age of 34, where he served until 2001. In 2006, he was appointed chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, a position with Cabinet rank, which he held until 2008.
He served as the Kannada Department Head at Bangalore University and a member of the Kannada University, Hampi, University Syndicate. He is regarded as a renowned public thinker, Kannada poet, and a symbol of the Dalit cause.