New Delhi:
Just 72 hours ago no one knew who is Rohith Vemula, a PHD scholar of Hyderabad University and today this name is buzzing in the political arena. The fire is not only limited to Hyderabad or South India but all across the nation. Now, the opposition is trying to bake its political bread in the pyre of an innocent student.
It’s a big question why people are taking up the issue so much as students committing suicide is a common thing in this country due to various reasons, but this student was a Dalit which makes things more complicated. All started on Sunday after the second year PhD student at University of Hyderabad, committed suicide by hanging.
Not only this, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and University vice chancellor Appa Rao have been booked under SC/ST act for the death. Dalit students all across the nation are protesting over this issue and JNU students have written letter to HRD minister Smriti Irani to remove the Hyderabad University's VC.
Vemula was active in student politics, but was deep depression after he was suspended from campus activities and expulsion from hostel due to disciplinary issues.
This incident occurred in August last year, when the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), along with Ambedkar Reading Group, University of Delhi, Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, IIT Madras, ASA (TISS) in Mumbai and concerned students from IIT Bombay issued a joint statement slamming an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) attack on screening of Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hain.
Later, ASA's University of Hyderabad chapter organised a protest demonstration. Not only that, the students also opposed the death of Yakub Memon.
Five Dalit students Dontha Prashanth, Rohith Vemula, Vijay Kumar, Seshu Chemudugunta and Sunkanna, who were top leaders in ASA were asked to vacate their hostel rooms in January 2016. They were also socially boycotted and denied access to hostels and other buildings on the campus except their classroom, library and conferences and workshops related to their subject of study.
The five Dalit alleged students were also not allowed to take part in the campus elections. The students allege the local BJP MLC, RSS supporters asked the VC to expel the five on false allegations.
The death caught political fire when, Rohith used blue banner of ASA for hanging. From last 15 days all the five students were protesting against the varsity notice and sleeping in open.
According to students, this issue could have handled carefully by administration but bock down under political pressure.
After the news of his suicide broke, various student activist groups have expressed their solidarity and support.
Not even that, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the campus and blamed the VC and the Union Ministers in Delhi over the death.
Now, the big question lies when will our law makers stop politicising deaths of students.
