M. M. Kalburgi

Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi (28 November 1938 – 30 August 2015) was an Indian scholar of Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) in the Kannada language and an academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. A noted epigraphist of Kannada, he was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006 for ''Marga 4'', a collection of his research articles.

Kalburgi was a well known scholar among Lingayat community. Kalburgi's life work has been to provide insights and raise new perspectives into the Lingayat history and community, which have many times led to controversy and opposition from other members of the Lingayat community that he was member of.

Kalburgi was shot dead in the morning of 30 August 2015 at his residence in Dharwad district of Karnataka by two unidentified men. Provided by Wikipedia