| Full name |
Chetan Kumar Ahimsa [1]Chetan Kumar- Twitter |
| Profession(s) |
Actor, Public Intellectual, Humanitarian, Activist |
| Physical Stats & More |
| Height (approx.) |
in centimeters- 168 cm
in meters- 1.68 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 7” |
| Eye Colour |
Black |
| Hair Colour |
Black |
| Career |
| Debut |
Film (Kannada): Aa Dinagalu (2007) as Chethan Naayak (lead role) |
| Personal Life |
| Date of Birth |
24 February 1983 (Thursday) |
| Age (as of 2022) |
39 Years |
| Birthplace |
Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Zodiac sign |
Pisces |
| Hometown |
Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| School |
Marist High School, Chicago |
| College/University |
Yale University, US |
| Educational Qualification |
South Asian Studies with an emphasis on Comparative Theatre from Yale University [2]Deccan Herald |
| Religious Views |
Chetan Kumar and his wife, Megha S, agreed to have a court marriage because they did not believe in religious rituals. [3]News18 |
| Caste |
He advocates Egalitarianism. [4]Chetan Kumar- Twitter He refers to himself as Ambedkarite, [5]Chetan Kumar- Facebook i.e., people who follow the philosophy of the Indian polymath, social reformer, human right advocate B. R. Ambedkar. He expressed his beliefs in a tweet, which read,”We are neither Hindu nor Mussalman; we are egalitarians. We are neither BJP nor Congress; we are alternative forces. There’s a big ongoing controversy. We are neither kesari shawls nor hijabs; we are blue shawls. Transformation is alternative.” |
| Controversies |
• Slammed for derogatory remarks on Brahmins (2021): An FIR was filed by the Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board (KSBDB) with the Bengaluru Police against Chetan Kumar for his critical remarks on Brahmanism, which he expressed via a tweet in 2021. [6]The Hindu The KSBDB alleged that the actor had hurt religious beliefs and made imputations prejudicial to national integration. In response to the complaints lodged against him, the actor stated that he was primarily highlighting anti-caste ideas of B. R. Ambedkar. His tweet read,
“While all are born as equals, to say that Brahmins alone are highest & all others are low as Untouchables is sheer nonsense. It is a big hoax”• Arrested an objectionable tweet against a Karnataka High Court judge (2022): On February 16 2022, Chetan Kumar was arrested after being charged under sections 505 (2) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC due to a tweet posted by Chetan against the Karnataka High Court judge Justice Krishna Dixit. The HC judge was part of a bench hearing the batch of petitions for the 2022 Karnataka Hijab row. In the tweet, Chetan reffred to a 2020 order in which Justice Krishna Dixit observed that it is unbecoming of Indian woman to sleep after rape and granted advance bail to a rape accused. Chetan’s tweet read, [7]Hindustan Times”Justice Krishna Dixit made such disturbing comments in a rape case. Now this same judge is determining whether #hijabs are acceptable or not in govt schools. Does he have the clarity required?” |
| Relationships & More |
| Marital Status |
Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriends |
Megha S (2015-2020) |
| Marriage Date |
2 February 2020 |
| Family |
| Wife/Spouse |
Megha S (Engineer, Activist) |
| Children |
Son-
Daughter- |
| Parents |
Father- Basavlinga Amar Kumar (surgeon)
Mother- Mangala Kumar (anesthesiologist) |
| Siblings |
Brother- Ashok Kumar (a UW Madison graduate, Oxford University PhD, and Fulbright Scholar, who works as an economics teacher at Birkbeck, University of London, UK) |
