Sunny M. Kapicadu Explained

Sunny M. Kapicadu
Occupation:Social activist, writer, LIC employee[1]
Nationality:Indian
Citizenship:Indian
Alma Mater:SMV NSS HSS Kallara
Mahatma Gandhi University.
Notableworks:Janathayum Janadipathyavum: Dalit Vijnanthinte Rashtriya Padangal[2]

Sunny Kapicadu is a Dalit writer-activist from Kottayam, Kerala, India.[3] [4] He has been vocal about the marginalization of the downtrodden.[5] He has taken active part in numerous protests related to issues faced by Dalit communities. Several of his speeches are archived on social media portals like YouTube.

Personal life

Kapicadu hails from Kottayam.[6] He is an alumnus of SMV, NSS, HSS, Kallara, and Mahatma Gandhi University.

He is an LIC employee by profession.

Position on issues and activism

Kapicadu's critique of caste encompasses many dimensions including membership through birth, forced endogamy, control of women’s sexuality, violence, exclusion, unequal possession of land and capital, and the collective mental state that in turn manifests as actual physical force.[7]

Kapicadu vehemently criticised the move of Left Democratic Front government in Kerala to give reservation for Economically Weaker Section among higher castes.[8] He argued that such a move is unconstitutional.[9]

He expressed solidarity with the verdict on entry of women to Sabarimala by the Supreme Court of India. He sees the struggle as a continuation of the Kerala renaissance which sought to undo centuries of caste and gender inequality and oppression. He therefore welcomes the verdict as a reaffirmation of constitutional morality. He described the protests against the court verdict as both anti-woman and anti-Dalit. He also called those protests a "mutiny by the Malayali shudras".[10]

Another cause that Kapicadu has fought for is that of burial grounds for Dalits.[11]

There was a death threat against him by a Bharatiya Janata Party worker from Thiruvananthapuram in 2019.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Indian society is the very centre of fascism: Sunny M. Kapicadu. Round Table India. 7 February 2019.
  2. Web site: KLF -SPEAKER-- Sunny M Kapikad. Kerala Literature Festival. 7 February 2019.
  3. Web site: Sunny M. Kapicadu. The New Indian Express. 7 February 2019.
  4. Web site: Kerala: No to 'Dalit' in government publications. Deccan Chronicle. 7 April 2019.
  5. Web site: Ameerudheen . T. A. . Interview: Sabarimala protests are a reminder of the role of caste in Kerala's enlightened society . 2021-05-10 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  6. Web site: Sunny M Kapikkad. 2021-05-10. Mathrubhumi. en.
  7. Web site: Kapicadu . Sunny M. . 2023-10-23 . Mechanisms of Caste and its Annihilation . 2023-11-30 . Azim Premji University . en-IN.
  8. Web site: 12 Jan 2019. CPM's caste agenda Kochi News - Times of India. 2021-05-10. The Times of India. en.
  9. Web site: 2017-12-24. Gained in translation: Reservation, Constitution and Democracy. 2021-05-10. The Indian Express. en.
  10. Web site: Ameerudheen. T. A.. Interview: Sabarimala protests are a reminder of the role of caste in Kerala's enlightened society. 2021-05-10. Scroll.in. en-US.
  11. Web site: 2019-10-30. When Dalits in Kerala are forced to bury their dead under the kitchen. 2021-05-10. The News Minute. en.
  12. Web site: BJP leader arrested for sending death threats to KPMS' Punnala Sreekumar, Sunny M Kapikkad . https://web.archive.org/web/20190209041503/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2019/feb/03/bjp-leader-arrested-for-sending-death-threats-to-kpms-punnara-sreekumar-and-sunny-m-kapikkad-1933834.html . dead . 9 February 2019 . 2021-05-10 . The New Indian Express.
  13. Web site: അദൃശ്യതകളുടെ ചരിത്രവും വർത്തമാനവും. 7 February 2019. malayalam.indianexpress.com.