Ghanta Chakrapani
Prof. Ghanta Chakrapani (born 1965) is an Indian sociologist, distinguished journalist and popular political analyst in Telugu media. He is served as the Chairman of Telangana State Public Service Commission. Earlier he has worked as a professor of Sociology at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad. He is one of the founders of Peace Initiative Committee which negotiated with the government and Maoist Naxalites for peace-talks in 2004-05. During the talks, the Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP) appointed him as the convenor for the Cease-fire Monitoring Committee. After formation of a separate State for  Telangana, the Government of Telangana appointed Dr.Chakrapani as the first Chairman of TSPSC. After assuming the Charge as Chairman, TSPSC in December, 2014, Prof. Chakrapani has introduced several reforms and IT initiatives to modernise the conduct of examinations and processing of recruitment, thereby transforming the youngest State PSC in the country into a modern Public Service Commission in the entire country. Early life. Born in Karimnagar District, Telangana, Dr. Chakrapani completed his Post Graduation (MA) in Sociology, Post Graduation in Mass Communication and Journalism (MCJ) and Ph.D on Religion from Osmania University, Hyderabad. Career. Ghanta Chakrapani started his  career as a journalist in 1985. He was a reporter/Sub-Editor in Udayam, Andhra Jyothi, which are the popular Telugu language newspapers published from Hyderabad. Later he worked as Public Relations Officer at Andhra Pradesh Open University for very brief period and panel news reader in All India Radio (AIR), Hyderabad. He is a left-wing intellectual, and a well-known media analyst, journalist and freelance writer. Academic. Dr. Chakrapani shifted to academics in the early 1990s. He worked as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at [Kakatiya University], Warangal. Later he joined as Assistant Professor at Dr.  B. R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad. He served in the University in various capacities including the Head-Department of Sociology, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Director, Center for Staff Training and Development (CSTD) and Director, Centre for Social Empowerment. He also served as the Registrar of the University from 2004–06 and developed and coordinated new academic programmes and courses in different fields like Sociology, Political Science, Human Rights, Women Studies, Mass Media and other Social Sciences. His fellowships and academic distinctions include Fellow, India China Institute, New York, Senior Fellow, JAPSS, USA, European Commission, Austria, Member, Sahitya Academy etc. He  has several scholarly publications to his credit. He published 13 books and hundreds of articles in Telugu and English. He writes "Ghantapatham", a popular weekly column in "Namasthe Telangana" Telugu daily. He is associated with several democratic movements and human rights organisations. Dr. Chakrapani is a strong proponent of Telangana movement and had actively participated in major agitations for separate Telangana State. He hosted a popular television show, "The Insider".