One-man commission’s report in the suicide case of Dalit research scholar of Hyderabad University, Rohith Vemula raising questions about his caste status has evoked a strong reaction from his family and friends. The Vice-Chancellor of the University, on the other hand, facing a case under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act was happy over the report which said that Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhikha had branded herself as Dalit to get the social benefits.
Justice K Roopanwal Commission was set up by the Human Resources Development Ministry to look into the suicide by Rohith Vemula following the allegations that it was the result of harassment by the University Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, and the then HRD Minister of State Smriti Irani, Minister of State Bandaru Dattatreya and others.
According to the sources, the Commission in its report submitted to the HRD Ministry has said that there was no proof that Rohith’s mother belonged to Mala community of Scheduled Castes.
This comes in sharp contrast to the findings of the administration of the Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, which after collecting evidence from different sources and recording the statements of the relatives had certified that Rohith was indeed a Dalit.
Justice Roopanwal Commission argued that Radhika was not told the names of her biological parents by her foster family and hence she could not have known whether she was a Dalit or not.
But the commission’s claim about the caste status of Rohith came as a surprise as according to the HRD Ministry officials this was not part of the terms of reference of the panel. The commission was constituted to recommend measures to prevent recurrence of incidents like Rohith’s suicide.
The report could come as a big relief to the BJP which was facing a Dalit backlash over the issue as Rohith had emerged as the icon of Dalit mobilisation across the country posing a big political challenge to the party specially in the poll bound Uttar Pradesh.
The report will also bring in to question those who had allegedly drove Rohith to hang himself on January 17 this year should be prosecuted under the stringent SC/ST Atrocities Act.
In another relief to the University officials that the commission has attributed the suicide to the personal reasons giving a clean chit to the officials.
Reacting to the reports about the commission’s finding, Appa Rao Podile said, “if that kind of report has come, I am happy about it. Though I have not yet seen it, as a University we are happy”.
But Rohith’s family and friends have reacted to the report with shock and disbelief.
The campus of UoH had again become restive and the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice has called for protest against the report. Rohith’s borther Raja Vemula said that the report was part f BJP and RSS agenda. “it shows that the Center is targeting my family and my community”, he said.
Another research scholar Prashanth Dontha who was also expelled from the university along with Rohith recalled, “during his last few days, Rohith had rued that injustice was metered out to use only because we were Dalits”.
Though the Commission had submitted its 41 page report to the HRD Ministry in August, its contents came in to public domain when a section of media reported about it. Howefer the report was yet to be officially released.