Kusuma Rajaiah

Kusuma Rajaiah, born March 7, 1956, is an inventor, entrepreneur, and a former government officer. An ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Rajaiah strongly believes in Ahimsa, or nonviolence, a principle that opposes harm to any living beings. He is the inventor of Ahimsa Silk, an eco-friendly way of producing silk without killing the worms.
== Early life and education ==
Rajaiah is born into a weaver’s family. After graduating from the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology he worked as a handloom technologist at the Handloom Department of Government of Andhra Pradesh, India for over 40 years before retiring in 2014.
== Ahimsa silk ==
Ahimsa Silk or Nonviolent silk is produced without the brutality involved in the traditional silk production techniques wherein the silkworms are poured into boiling water while inside their cocoons. In nonviolent methods, the worms are allowed to hatch and leave the cocoons on their own. The cocoons free of worms are then spun into silk. 
== Patent ==
Rajaiah holds a patent for eco-friendly mulberry silk. The patent was awarded by the Patent Office of Government of India in May 2006 and valid for 20 years until May 2026.
== Awards and Notable mentions ==
* Aug 2007 - Threads of Hope
* April 2008 - Shining World Compassion Award
* Jan 2011 - Taking the Violence Out of Silk
* June 2014 - Business Initiative Directions New York International Quality Summit Award
* Apr 2015 - What is Ahimsa Silk and Why Are Celebs Wearing It?
* Dec 2016 - Ahimsa Silk 
* Oct 2017 - The man behind Ahimsa silk
* Feb 2018 - A non-violent Journey
* Oct 2018 - Taking the ‘Ahimsa’ route with silk 
* Jun 2019 - Beauty Without Cruelty 
* Jul 2019 - Silk goes non-violent 
* Aug 2019 - Silk for Peace 
* Sep 2019 - Ahimsa Silk Eco-Friendly Fabric silkworms 
* Oct 2019 - The story of Kusuma Rajaiah, who invented Ahimsa Silk (non-violent silk) 
* Jun 2019 - Ahimsa Silk Story 
* Jan 2020 - Interesting dimensions of Ahimsa silk (Vegan silk) 
In addition to these, Rajaiah received an award from Handloom Promotion Council in 2013 and award from the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India division, and several other awards from both state and central governments on India.
== Criticism ==
Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC), a charity for animal rights, critiqued that Ahimsa Silk production does not constitute a true form of non-violent silk production. The moths still undergo torture and not very different from the conventional silk production. However, an earlier study from BWC had a positive outlook of the work of Mr. Rajaiah. 
==In the media==
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== References ==
==External links==
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* Kusuma Rajaiah on linkedin
* The man behind Ahimsa silk - DNA India
* Ahimsa Silk - history & meaning | House of Wandering Silk
Category:1956 births
Category:Indian inventors
Category:Entrepreneurs
Category:Handloom industry in India
Category:Indian government officials
Category:Indian people