Vasanth Kannabiran
Background
Vasanth Kannabiran a lawyer and leading civil and democratic rights activist, has worked alongside her husband since the mid-1970s for the rights of political dissidents. When she began work on human rights, the emergency had just been declared, and all civil liberties stood suspended. Vasanth sheltered underground activists. She set up a women’s collective in Andhra Pradesh called Asmita, which claimed to bring diverse groups of women into networks that address issues spanning conflict, peace, survival, wo
Vasanth Kannabiran
Occupation
• Lawyer and civil and democratic rights activist
Qualification
• Masters in English literature from the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages in Hyderabad
About: - Vasanth Kannabiran a lawyer and leading civil and democratic rights activist, has worked alongside her husband since the mid-1970s for the rights of political dissidents. When she began work on human rights, the emergency had just been declared, and all civil liberties stood suspended. Vasanth sheltered underground activists. She set up a women’s collective in Andhra Pradesh called Asmita, which claimed to bring diverse groups of women into networks that address issues spanning conflict, peace, survival, women’s rights, and secularism. Vasanth is also a founder-member of Hyderabad Ekta, the first so called anti communal front in Hyderabad. She is also a teacher, writer and translator. Her published works include My Life is a Song: Gaddar’s Anthems for the Revolution (2021); Softly Dies a Lake (2020); a translation of Akkineni Kutumbarao’s autobiographical novel, Kolleti Jadalu; Taken at the Flood: A Memoir of a Political Life (2019); and A Grief to Bury: Memories of Love, Work and Loss (2011). She has also written and produced the ballets, Menaka, Ahalya, Gandhari and Rajasimha, which have been performed in several cities.