Caste-based discrimination has deprived the marginalized of their basic honor of life, such as Education, Dignity, Employment, and many other basic parameters that a human will need to build up his stature. After years of oppression, they have started climbing the ladder of education through reservations provided to them by Babasaheb. Although Babasaheb ensured the right of reservations to the marginalized communities, today it has become evident that reservations have become the most obvious way in which the dominant caste openly expresses prejudice against the lower marginalized people. There were movements across the nation against caste-based discrimination and violence. One such movement the nation experienced was the Rohith Vemula movement.
Rohith Vemula was a PhD scholar at University of Hyderabad. He was involved in raising issues of caste-based injustices on campus under the banner of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA). After which, the university stopped paying his stipend of ₹25000, which was a major financial boon during his studies. His friends alleged that he was targeted because of his involvement with the ASA in fighting for justice. However, the university denied the allegation, eventually blaming paperwork. Furthermore, the tensions in his life grew when the university set up an inquiry against an allegation by ABVP members of assaulting a local leader. Five students, including Rohith, were suspended in September. Unfortunately, he ended his life on January 17, 2016, with a suicide note that read, “My birth is my fatal accident.” Vemula was more than his caste; he was a diligent and intelligent student who dreamed of studying science. He was well-read about the caste-based atrocities that Dalits had to face, which he had experienced in his childhood. Although he is a student of science, he prefers to fight for the injustices that his fellow young intellects have faced from the system. He died telling the world that the human was never to be recognized from his intellect, rather from his identity.
Vemula is not the first, nor is he likely to be the last Dalit student to be forced to commit suicide due to systemic oppression and discrimination. His death sparked nationwide protests and outrage. The idea of caste was a topic of national discussion. His letter reminds us that despite being a merit holder, a Dalit has to face prejudice. Campuses were not meant to be the practical labs that students are trained and educated for professional jobs; rather, they are a place where ideas and thoughts are supposed to prevail. His death brought debates about caste to the main space. Students across the nation, irrespective of their ideologies, came to the streets to fight for justice. Students across the state were inspired by the letter, which propelled the idea of entering higher education institutions. After the Mandal Commission, Dalit students were able to move beyond the subservient role and begin assertively demanding their constitutional rights and social justice within university spaces. His letter highlighted that a man (especially a Dalit) was never treated as a whole person who got to be very talented; rather, he was seen as a vote, number, and utility. A Dalit student’s intellect, research, and ideas are not considered; rather, society focuses on his identity. In a society where Dalits are often labelled as untouchables, Vemula used science to claim the human, even though he had the highest possible status, he was seen as something lesser. He claimed that a Dalit student could reach any heights, study major subjects, and be a valuable asset in building the nation. He used science as a language of protest.
Activists & Civil society groups have remained steadfast in demanding justice. ASA, an Ambedkarite student organization and other student organization have led sustained protests, both at the University of Hyderabad and across India, invoking Rohith’s sacrifice as a rallying cry against caste oppression. Organizations irrespective of ideologies carried out the protests pressuring the state to provide justice. Supporters & left parties have called Rohit’s suicide as “Institutional Murder”. There is an attempt to discredit his caste identity as well. The Guntur district collector claimed that Rohit belonged to the Vaddera community (OBC), which is an attempt to shield the culprits. In 2024, the Telangana police filed a closure report with the same findings, citing a lack of evidence. With a demand for an end to caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions, Protestors in Telangana demanded for “Rohit Act” that could safeguard the rights of marginalized sections. During 2014 to 2021, 122 students died by suicide at central universities such as IIT, IIM, NITs, and other central universities, of which around 68 students were from SC/ST/OBC categories. This was presented by former Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, to the Lok Sabha in 2021. In 2006, a committee led by Sukhdev Thorat studied caste discrimination at AIIMS and submitted a report in 2007. The report flagged the lack of teaching support due to caste background, discrimination in evaluation of papers, harassment by upper-class students forcing them to shift classes, social isolation, and discrimination in extracurricular activities. In this regard, policy intervention is needed to defend the rights of marginalized sections of society.
In Karnataka, civil society groups, lawyers, student organizations, and academicians called for the enactment of the Rohit Act. Later, the government publicly committed to enacting the Rohit Act, which was a hope for the movement after decades of struggle. The bill addresses caste-based discrimination and harassment in Higher education institutions. It tends to promote inclusive education and diversity of all forms in higher educational institutions.
He was told that he was a number, but he reminded the world that he was made of stardust. His letter is a mirror that he has left to reflect upon. Inquilab Zindabad!
