Edathy was born in Hanover, Lower Saxony, the son of an immigrant from Kerala, India, and a German mother. He has studied sociology and published books on immigration and right-wing extremism. He was an SPD member of the Bundestag from 1998, representing Nienburg II – Schaumburg. He was a member of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's red–green coalition, and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition. He was the chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Interior Affairs and was chairman of the German–Indian group of members of the Bundestag. He was re-elected in the general election in September 2009 and again in the general election in September 2013.