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| Date | 17 January 2016 |
|---|---|
| Location | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Cause | Suicide by hanging |
Rohith Chakravarti Vemula was an Indian PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad.
Background and death
Caste controversy
Rohith had a scheduled caste certificate for Hyderabad University admission. After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj claimed that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit, a police investigation was started to determine his caste status. The case against Dattatreya, Rao and Podile was likely to collapse if Vemula was not a Dalit. His brother's caste certificate lists him as Vaddera, and Vemula's uncle gave a statement to the police that Rohith's father was from that caste, which is classified as a Backward and non-scheduled caste in Andhra Pradesh. Intelligence reports also proved that he was not Dalit.
The District Level Scrutiny Committee in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, which was reviewing the Dalit status of Rohith Vemula, submitted its final report to the government stating that neither Rohith nor his mother Radhika were Dalits.
On 14 April 2016, on Ambedkar Jayanti, Rohit Vemula's mother Radhika Vemula, and brother Raja Vemula converted to Buddhism in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Reactions
His suicide sparked protests and outrage from across India and gained widespread media attention as an alleged case of discrimination against Dalits and low status castes in India, in which elite educational institutions have been purportedly seen as hotbeds of caste-based discrimination against students belonging to lower caste.
In his suicide note, 26-year-old Rohith had shared that he always wanted to be a science writer like Carl Sagan. Ann Druyan, Sagan's third wife, depressed by discrimination against Dalit students, said that she mourned Rohith's death and lost promise, and responded to Rohith's words in a letter:
To read his suicide note and to learn the details of his predicament is to get a vivid inkling of the actual cost of bias to our civilization. If we could somehow quantify the totality of lost contributions and innovations as a result of prejudice, I believe we would find it staggering You tell me, Rajeev: Is it possible that the attention paid to Rohit's story will lessen its chronic repetition? I am trying to find something hopeful in an otherwise heartbreaking example of needless suffering and squandered potential.
Rohith's suicide was described as "institutional murder" by Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, The poet Ashok Vajpeyi returned his D.Litt degree awarded to him by the University of Hyderabad in protest against the circumstances which led to the death of Vemula, for which Vajpeyi holds the University culpable.
An open letter was written to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad by over 120 worldwide academics, protested the role of the university in the events.
Notes
References
- "Have certificate proving Rohith Vemula's SC status: SC/ST commission chairman". DNA. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- Offensive, Marking Them (1 February 2016). "Rohith Vemula was a Dalit,says SC/ST panel chief Punia". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ Aji, Sowmya. "Probe suggests Rohith Vemula's family not dalit: Police". The Economic Times. economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- "AP officials verify Rohith's caste". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- "Probe suggests Rohith Vemula's family not dalit: Police". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Bharati, Jain. "Ajit Doval gets report saying Rohith Vemula was not a dalit". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- "Merit, and not SC status, got Rohith Vemula into University of Hyderabad". The Times of India.
- "Rohith's caste kicks off storm, his tiff with ABVP over poster goes viral". Deccan Chronicle. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- Saubhadra, Chatterji (20 January 2016). "Official certificate scotches doubts over Rohith's Dalit identity". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- "Rohith Vemula and mother Radhika are OBCs, not Dalits, says Andhra Pradesh government". Firstpost. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- https://m.navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/metro/mumbai/other-news/Rohith-Vemulas-mother-and-brother-converted-to-Buddhism/articleshow/51822970.cms
- https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india/2016/04/160414_rohit_vemula_family_converted_buddhism_rd
- "Outrage over dalit scholar Rohith Vemula suicide". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "Carl Sagan's Wife Writes Moving Letter Mourning Rohith Vemula's Letter". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- "Govt terrorism forced Dalit scholar to commit suicide: Mayawati". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- "Rohith Vemula suicide: Poet Ashok Vajpeyi returns his D. Litt degree awarded by the University of Hyderabad". India Today. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- "An open letter to vice-chancellor of University". The Hindu. 19 January 2016.
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