Siddalingaiah | |
|---|---|
 Siddalingaiah at Tathvapada singers gathering in Mandya in 2012 | |
| Born | Siddalingaiah 3 February 1954 Manchinabele, Karnataka, India |
| Died | 11 June 2021 (aged 67) Bangalore, India |
| Occupation |
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| Education | M. A. and Ph.D in Kannada |
| Alma mater | Bangalore University |
| Period | 1954–2021 |
| Genre | Dalit-Bandaya Movement |
| Literary movement | Dalit-Bandaya movement |
| Notable works | Holemadigara Haadu, Saviraaru Nadigalu and Meravanige |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri (Posthumous) |
Siddalingaiah (1954 in Magadi, Bangalore – 11 June 2021), was an Indian poet, playwright, and Dalit activist, writing in the Kannada language. He is credited with starting the Dalit-Bandaya movement in Kannada and with starting the genre of Dalit writing. He is one of the founders of the Dalita Sangharsh Samiti along with B. Krishnappa.
In 1988, at the age of 34, he became a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, serving till 2001 and, in 2006, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, a post with Cabinet rank that he held until 2008.[citation needed]
He has been head of the Department of Kannada at Bangalore University and a member of the University Syndicate of Kannada University, Hampi. He is acknowledged as a symbol of the Dalit movement and a leading public intellectual and Kannada poet.[1]