Why Is Rohith Vemula’s Caste And “Nationalism” Being Questioned?

Indian police on Monday fired water cannons to disperse students protesting the death of a young Dalit scholar who committed suicide after he was suspended from university, a case some have blamed on caste-based discrimination. “She has deliberately avoided saying that it was the letter of her Union Labour Minister which triggered this whole thing”, Owaisi said.

He said the party would launch a nationwide protest on January 21 against the alleged persecution of Dalit students that forced one of them to commit suicide.

Protesters allege that the university’s decision was linked to a letter that Bandaru Dattatreya, the BJP parliamentarian from Secunderabad, wrote to Education Minister Smriti Irani alleging that the university had become a “den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics”.

Irani also produced a certified copy of the suicide note of Rohith to say that it did not mention any university official, political organisation or any MP.

“These students were protesting against the unjust expulsion and social boycott of Dalit students on campus”.

Earlier, the HRD Minister asserted the suicide of Rohith was not a Dalit versus a non-Dalit confrontation and attempts were being made to “ignite passion” in the case of the Dalit scholar’s death across communities. “How can young Dalit students be socially ostracised and economically penalised by the University administration?”

“According to the procedure, if there is a VIP reference, it has to be acknowledged in 15 days and another 15 days may be taken to reply to it. Since no response was coming from the University, the Ministry had to send reminders”, HRD Ministry spokesperson Ghanshyam Goel said.

Students held protests in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and several other places demanding ouster of Dattatreya and Smriti Irani.

May be Dattatreya did not anticipate such an extreme reaction from the Dalit scholar, as he is known for writing letters to the authorities and the government on any issue. Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, an ASA member, committed suicide on Sunday, sparking angry outbursts from Dalit and non-Dalit students across the country.

Meanwhile, the BJP student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in the eye of the storm following Vemula’s suicide, has also come out with a statement. Rao said the students have made the demand in a situation in which they feel they are aggrieved. “This problem persisted during the Congress rule also, if they had fixed this four years ago, possibly Rohith would have been alive today”, she said.