Almost a week after he hanged himself in a hostel room, the caste identity of research scholar Rohith Vemula has become subject of a raging controversy. While Rohith himself always claimed to be Dalit or a member of Scheduled Caste (SC) and his mother Radhika and other family members also maintain the same, his father Mani Kumar has suddenly emerged from oblivion to claim that Rohith belonged to backward caste of Vaddera.
Mani Kumar who had deserted the family many years ago in Guntur and was not in touch with them has now told local media that Rohith was not Dalit. “I don’t know why he took a caste certificate as SC”. Even Cyberabad police which was investigating Rohith’s suicide has reached conclusion that he was not Dalit
Amid the storm over Rohith’s suicide in Hyderabad University, a team of Cyberabad police was rushed to Guntur to question his grandparents and other relatives about his caste background as questions were raised about his Dalit identity.
Cyberabad police sources said that while Rohith and his younger brother possessed SC certificates issued by the revenue department from their childhood, others said that they belonged to Vaddera BC community. “We are still investigating the antecedents and how the certificate was issued to him”, a senior police official said.
Rohith’s brother Raja Chaitanya said that doubts about their caste were being raised as a conspiracy to save some powerful people. “We have always possessed SC certificate from our school days and were treated like Dalits. Where is the question of our not being Dalit”, he asked.
He said that if need be the family will fight a legal battle on the issue.
Chaitanya said that the family has all the necessary proofs to establish their Dalit identity.
The certificate issued by the revenue department in Guntur shows Rohith’s identity as Mala, a sub caste of Dalits.
The campaign to disprove his Dalit identity has evoked a strong reaction from the Dalit activists and organizations
Prof Kancha Illaiah, a renowned Dalit academic and writer condemned the doubts being raised about Rohith and urg d the Dalit irganizations to stand up and counter it.
“Rohith’s talk, beliefs and his life itself is biggest proof of his being a Dalit. It is not enough to claim his father is saying so”, he said
He pointed out that Rohith had not made any reference to his father in his suicide note and only mentioned only his mother. “From where this government created this father to make claims about his caste”, he asked.
Questions were also being raised on why suddenly Rohith’s caste identity has become subject of so much interest and why some people were after police to find it outIJ
The answer lies in the case booked against the union minister of state Bandaru Dattatreya BJP MlC N Ramchandra Rao and University of Hyderabad Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao under SC ST Prevention of Atrocities Act for allegedly driving Rohith to suicide.
The provisions of the Act are so stringent that police will have to arrest the accused.
But if it is established that Rohith was not a Dalit then the case will not stand the legal scrutiny.
“That’s why it smacks of a conspiracy”, said Kancha Illaiah.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to Rohith as “son of Bharath Mata” also evoked criticism from the Dalit organizations.
Arpita Jaya, a member of JAC for Social Justice, spearheading the stir at the University of Hyderabad said, “Rohith fought against the Hindutva ideology Narendra Modi and his party promotes. He strongly believed in principles of Ambedkar”.
She said that calling such a person Son of Bharat Mata was not acceptable.