Hyderabad varsity announces Rs.8 lakh for Rohith’s family

The ongoing protests over the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula has intensified with ten professors belonging to the SC/ST community resigning from their administrative posts in the University of Hyderabad in response to the “fabridcated statements” by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani in connection with the incident.

Friends of Vemula, a second-year PhD student in life sciences, said that last July, following complaints over his activism by the BJP-aligned student group, the university stopped paying his monthly stipend of roughly $400, his main source of income. “We can’t even understand the language you are using…if the extraordinary situation goes away, will it (extraordinary situation) come back”, Zuhail said.

“It took the Prime Minister five days to react”. Why was he suspended? “Those responsible should be punished…why he was suspended”.

“But we want to take this country in a direction where there is new enthusiasm and self confidence”. It’s not a suicide.

“The boy was pushed to the limit of committing suicide and after everything that has happened since, the Prime Minister has now found the time to shed tears”.

Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director, People’s Watch, said that the silent discrimination in the name of caste would grow if the protest was muted and regretted that the suicide of Rohith was yet to create an impact in local colleges. A mother has lost his son, there can not be a bigger grief.

In no mood to accede to the appeal of the Vice Chancellor to return to classes and restore normalcy, the students said the revocation of suspension of four dalit scholars announced yesterday was not “unconditional”, as per the circular issued by the university. Mother India has lost a son. “I feel the pain very well”, Modi had said.

Based on its observations and findings, the Ministry has chose to constitute a Judicial Commission to review the entire sequence of events and the circumstances; and to establish the facts and correctives in the context of the University.

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Expressing solidarity with Rohit Vemula, the dalit scholar of Hyderbad University who committed suicide, a student of Jadavpur University has completed 24 hours of hunger strike on Friday. The two-member fact-finding committee comprising HRD officials, which visited the university, said in its report that there was a “lack of sensitivity” shown in some areas by the varsity authorities in dealing with events that led to the suicide.

Chief Medical Officer of the health centre Dr Ravindra Kumar said three of the seven students were subsequently shifted to a private hospital for further treatment after they were given first-aid at the centre. Other demands include Rs. 50 lakh compensation to Rohith’s family and employment for one family member.

And protesting against Human Resource Development Minister Irani’s “misleading” statement, 10 Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe teachers quit their administrative roles.

Students protested against the Rohith suicide case.