The suicide by a Dalit student of Hyderabad Central University snowballed into a major controversy on Tuesday with campus protests spreading to various parts of the country and students’ groups of Opposition parties demanding the removal of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao, Union
Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, accusing them of being responsible for the death. At a time when the BJP is doing everything possible to reach out to the Dalit community, the issue has placed it on the back foot.
With BJP’s rivals wading into the controversy, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the university and supported the demand of the agitating students to sack the Vice Chancellor and the Unions Ministers.
Rohith Vemula, a 26-year-old PhD student, hanged himself in a hostel room on Sunday evening when his protest against his expulsion and that of four other students from university hostel did not yield any result.
At the heart of the controversy is the allegation by agitating students that the university had imposed restrictions on five Dalit research scholars under political pressure from leaders of the BJP and its affiliated organisation ABVP and BJYM. They specifically named Bandaru Dattatreya and BJP MlC Ramachandra Rao. Dattatreya had written to Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani seeking action against the activists of Ambedkar Students Association, after their clash with ABVP cadre in August.
Students say that the university administration, which had earlier given a clean chit to Rohith and other students, cracked down on them on December 21 after Dattatreya’s letter.
Rahul Gandhi, who met Rohith’s mother Radhika before addressing the protesting students at the university, blamed the Vice Chancellor and Dattatreya for the tragedy. “I agree with the protesting students that the VC and the Minister created conditions for Rohit’s suicide,” he said.
“At least now, the VC should accept moral responsibility for the incident and quit,” he said.
Rahul said that the Government should accept both the demands of the students and give strict punishment to whoever was responsible for the suicide. “Both the demands are valid,” he said.
He alleged that only a certain kind of idea was being imposed on all the students. “The idea of a university is knowledge. When you try and impose only a certain kind of idea on all students, you harm the passion that various students possess,” he said.
Demonstration escalated on the university campus where the students demanded immediate removal of the Vice Chancellor and an ex-gratia of Rs50 lakh to the family of Rohith. They also demanded the arrest of ABVP and BJYM leaders Sushil Kumar and Vishnu.
The anger spilled over to the other parts of Hyderabad including the Osmania University. Workers of Telangana Jagruti Youth Front, affiliated to Telangana Jagruti organisation of TRS MP K Kavitha too held a demonstration at the residence of Dattatreya in Ramnagar area of Hyderabad.
Deputy Commissioner of Police V Kamalasan Reddy said that the police took 37 protesters into custody.
Noted writer Ashok Vajpeyi too announced that he was returning the D lit to Hyderabad University in protest against the anti-Dalit attitude of the university authorities.
MP of Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi too came forward in support of the protesting students and urged the Telangana Government to provide ex-gratia and a house to Rohith’s mother.
Meanwhile Rohith’s mother V Radhika said that misuse of political power by certain individuals and a conspiracy by officials was responsible for the death of her son. Speaking to the reporters after the cremation of Rohith, Radhika demanded that at least now the university should immediately revoke the punishment of four other students who like Rohith were barred from the hostel and other parts of the campus.
“My son was supposed to visit me on festival but did not come saying he was facing some problem. I did not know that I will not see him again,” she said crying inconsolably. Radhika, whose husband went missing several years ago, works as a tailor and she is largely dependent on the Rohith’s help for bread and butter.