It is a matter of great concern that the former head of the Marathi department of Shivaji University Dr. Krishna Kirawale, a renowed Dalit scholar and leading figure of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar movement was found dead in a pool of blood and it is one more case of politically motivated killing. This is the fourth murder of rationalists in the country in recent times in India and the third murder of scholars in Maharashtra. Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, crusader of anti-superstition movement was shot dead in the year 2013. Veteran communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare was killed near his house in Kolhapur in the year 2015. M M. Kalburgi, vice-chancellor of Hampi University was also shot dead in Dharwad, Karnataka in the same year as Pansare. Kirawale had written several books on Dr. Ambedkar and his movement and was a big name in the Marathi Literary scene. Published by Shivaji University, he had authored a dictionary of English words used by Dr. Ambedkar. He was the head of the Marathi department of Shivaji University and the chief of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Centre for Reach and Development. It is one more national loss and now whistle blowers are facing music and killing them has become very common.
S Abhishek Ramaswamy
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
