Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Rohith Vemula

Rahul Gandhi on day-long fast along with agitating students

by

rahul gandhi rohith vemula

Hyderabad: Stepping up the offensive on Dalit scholar suicide issue, Rahul Gandhi today commenced a day-long fast along with agitating students of Hyderabad Central University here after participating in a candle light vigil in the wee hours.

The Congress Vice President spent about two hours with agitating students past midnight and participated in the candle light vigil along with 2,000 students to mark the birthday of Rohith, who would have turned 27 today.

Rahul returned to the protest site this morning to begin the fast, expressing solidarity with them. “Rahulji is on fast,” NSUI President Roji M John said.

Rahul, who is visiting the campus for the second time in as many weeks, tweeted, “I am here today at the request of Rohith’s friends and family, to stand with them in their fight for justice.

“A young life full of dreams and aspirations was cut short. We owe it to him, to the memory of (Mahatma) Gandhiji and to every single Indian student who dreams of an India free from prejudice and injustice,” he said in another tweet.

Rohith’s mother Radhika and brother Raju were also present at the protest site.

Gandhi, who arrived here at 12.10 AM, spoke to the agitating students and lit candles before Rohith’s picture.

As students raised slogans against Irani and Dattaretreya, Rahul intervened and politely told them not to shout ‘murdabad’ (a slogan wishing death to).

“Let us not say ‘murdabad’ to somebody. That will not do justice,” he said. Velpula Sunkanna, one of the research scholars whose suspension was revoked recently, said Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile should be removed from the VC post.

“On January 17, we have filed SC/ST Atrocities case against Appa Rao and (five) others. These six people should be arrested immediately. Thats the only demand,” Sunkanna, who is on an indefinite fast along with Vijay Kumar (another scholar whose suspension was revoked), said.

On Rahul Gandhi’s second visit to the campus, he said, “I look at it the way others..Arvind Kejriwal, Sitaram Yechury, CPI leaders and many people who came and supported us do. The same way we see Rahul Gandhi”.

(Agencies)

Teachers on hunger strike over Rohith’s suicide

by

rohith-vemula

Hyderabad: Three teachers of Hyderabad Central University today sat on a one-day hunger strike demanding that Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile be removed and in-charge VC Vipin Srivastava step down, in order to resume academic and administrative activities.

The protest by teachers comes a day after a second batch of students on an indefinite fast demanding justice for Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula, who allegedly committed suicide on January 17, were shifted to hospital following concerns over their health condition.

A teacher from the Osmania University also joined the protesting teachers in the fast on HCU campus under the banner of SC/ST Teachers’ Forum and other concerned teachers.

Earlier, a group of seven students had also been taken to hospital following their deteriorating health condition.

The agitating students yesterday refused to hold talks with Srivastava, who came to the protest site.

They alleged that Srivastava was equally responsible for the “wrong affairs” and demanded that he step-down from the responsibility of interim VC.

Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, spearheading the agitation over Rohith’s suicide, said that students would intensify the “struggle” till all their demands are met.

Their demands include Podile’s resignation, and also Srivastava’s from the post of in-charge VC, “sacking” from Union Cabinet of HRD Minister Smriti Irani, employment to a family member of Rohith and Rs 50 lakh compensation to his family.

The selection of Srivastava as interim VC was earlier opposed by the students and SC/ST staff forums as they claimed he headed the Executive Council sub-committee whose decisions were “responsible for the death of Rohith” and that he was one of the accused in the death of another Dalit student in 2008.

Students of most universities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana yesterday boycotted classes in solidarity with the agitators as they sought “justice” for Rohith.

(Agencies)

Dalit scholar issue: 6 students on fast moved to health centre

by

Rohith Vemula

Hyderabad: Six of the seven students of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), on hunger strike to protest the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, have been shifted to a health centre even as the agitators today took out a march to the residence of the interim head of the institution.

The students, who had given a nationwide university strike call, marched to the residence of the interim head of the institution and then went outside the campus and burnt the effigy of the Vice-chancellor, whose ouster they have been seeking.

“Six (students) were shifted (to the health centre) yesterday”, Ravindra Kumar, chief medical officer said.

One student is continuing with the hunger strike, which resumed three days back after the first batch of his colleagues who went on fast were moved to the health centre.

The students first marched to the residence of the officiating Vice-Chancellor Vipin Srivastava in the staff quarters.

Srivastava was given the charge of the institution after VC Aappa Rao went on leave amid escalation of protests last week.

But selection of Srivastava as interim head of the institution was stiffly objected to by the students and SC/ST staff forums alleging he headed the Executive Council sub-committee whose decisions were “responsible for the death of Rohith” and was one of the accused in the death of another dalit student in 2008.

Srivastava had yesterday made a fresh appeal to students to help restore normalcy on the campus.

Rohith was found hanging in a hostel room on the HCU campus on January 17, sparking strong reactions on the campus and across the country.

Rohith and four other students, all from the dalit community, were suspended last year by the varsity for allegedly attacking an ABVP leader.

The suspension of the four students were revoked last week after the issue snowballed into a major political row with the agitation drawing support from parties other than the BJP.

(PTI)

Dalit scholar suicide: Protests escalate at Hyderabad university

by

Rohith Vemula

Hyderabad: Protests escalated Monday at the Hyderabad Central University with several students from other universities and some social groups coming out in support of the agitating students over the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula.

The protesters coverged at the campus, responding to the ‘Chalo HCU” call by the Joint Action Committee spearheading the stir.

“Students and others have come in from different parts of the country. There are more than a thousand gathered here.

Situation is under control,” HCU chief security officer TV Rao said.

Security was beefed up with a large number of police personnel being deployed around the campus as a precautionary measure.

Joint Commissioner of Police Cyberabad T V Shashidhar Reddy said, “We are verifying all those who are entering the HCU campus. There is no such restriction on the ‘Chalo HCU’ programme.”

Earlier, some students and their supporters had complained that the police were not allowing them to enter the campus.

Their demands include outster of Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao, who has proceeded on leave, and passing a “Rohith Act” to prevent suicide of ST, SC, BC and minority students in universities, the protesting students said.

The students and SC/ST faculty and officers forums had objected to the choice of Vipin Srivastava, the senior- most Professor, to perform the duties of the Vice Chancellor alleging that he headed the Executive Council Sub-Committee “which has been responsible for the death of Rohith” and was one of the “accused” in the suicide of another Dalit student.

Meanwhile, B R Ambedkar’s grand-son Prakash Ambedkar visited the campus and interacted with the students, whose agitation has received strong support from parties other than BJP and several top leaders including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi were on the campus last week.

The students who gathered on the campus included those from Calicut University in Kerala, Pondicherry University, Osmania University and Maulana Azad National Urdu University.

As part of ‘Chalo-HCU’ programme, the agitating students marched from HCU shopping complex area, the hub of the protest, to the main gate and administrative building and back.

The indefinite fast launched by a fresh batch of seven students over suicide of Rohith continued in the HCU for the second day.

(PTI)

Hyderabad University revokes suspension of 4 dalit research scholars

by

Rohith Vemula

Hyderabad: Yielding to intense pressure, the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) today revoked the suspension of four dalit students against whom action was taken along with another research scholar Rohith Vemula Chakravarthi, who allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room on January 17.

On a day of dramatic developments, 13 SC/ST faculty members of the unversity, who backed the protesting students and had threatened to resign, announced that they were giving up their administrative posts.

The revocation decision was taken at a meeting of the Executive Council of the HCU, on a day the stir gained further political heat and the protesting students resolved to step up their campaign for justice by enlisting support from campuses across the country.

“The Council, after taking into account the extraordinary situation prevailing in the university and after discussing the issue in detail, resolved to terminate the punishment imposed on the students concerned with immediate effect,” HCU said in a statement here.

The HCU had in September last year suspended the five students, including Rohith, for six months (entire semester) for allegedly assaulting ABVP leader Susheel Kumar in August.

But, the suspension was later revoked. However, in December, while allowing them to attend classes, the HCU had denied them access to the hostel.

The five research scholars, under the umbrella of a Joint Action Committee, had termed their “expulsion” (except classrooms and workshops related to subject of their study) from hostel as “undemocratic” and a “social boycott” and were forced to sleep in a make-shift tent on the campus.

After the alleged suicide of Rohith, the issue sparked strong reactions on the campus.
In the statment, HCU Vice-Chancellor Prof Appa Rao Podile, who is under attack over the issue, appealed to the university community to maintain calm and harmony under the extraordinary circumstances prevailing on the campus and repose faith in the internal mechanisms to resolve the issue.

He urged all in the university to contribute to resuming regular class work, research activities and administrative work without further delay.

Adding further political thrust to the agitation, which saw non-BJP party leaders making a beeline to the campus in the last few days, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reached the campus today and called for removal of Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya.

The research scholar’s alleged suicide following his suspension snowballed into a major row with BJP’s rivals wading into it and demanding the removal of Irani and and Labour Minister Dattatreya, accusing them of being responsible for the death.

The agitating students have been demanding resignation of Dattatreya, removal of Vice Chancellor, Rs five crore compensation to Rohith’s family and employment to a member of his family, besides revocation of suspension of four students.

(Agencies)

13 faculty members of Hyderabad University resign over Dalit student suicide

by

Rohith Vemula

Hyderabad: In a bid to show solidarity with the protesting students over the suicide of a Dalit student, 13 faculty members of Hyderabad Central University resigned on Thursday. It includes Professor V Krishna, controller of exams, Chief Medical Officer Dr Ravendra Kumar, 10 hostel wardens and chief warden Nagaraju.

The situation in the university remains tense as protests continue over the suicide of PhD scholar V Rohith.

The university is now mulling dilution of punishment for the four other Dalit students who were suspended along with Rohith for allegedly assaulting an ABVP member. Sources said that the University is also considering closing the institution for a brief while.

Meanwhile, political parties are trying to score brownie points on the issue by portraying themselves fighting for the backward class. After Congress, TMC, AIMIM, BSP, Left, Aam Admi Party has stepped up its attacks demanding an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the university today. His party has also demanded resignations of Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya.

On Wednesday, HRD Minister Smriti Irani defended herself saying that Rohith’s suicide is not a confrontation between a Dalit and a non-Dalit.

(Agencies)

 

AAP protests, demands Bandaru Dattatreya’s resignation and arrest

by

Bandaru Dattatreya

New Delhi: The AAP on Tuesday protested over the suicide by a Dalit research scholar and demanded the resignation and arrest of union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and the vice chancellor of the University of Hyderabad.

Over 300 supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi unit and its student wing, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, besides party leader Ashutosh and MLAs Sandeep Kumar and Rakhi Birla, gathered at the Jantar Mantar here.

“We demand the immediate resignation and arrest of union minister Bandaru Dattatreya for driving a Dalit student to suicide in Hyderabad,” AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh said at a press conference here.

He demanded that Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani’s role in the matter should also be investigated.

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.

“The Dalits have faced persecution after the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre. There are several instances, including those in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Haryana, where Dalits were targeted, persecuted and even murdered,” he added.

Ashutosh, while referring to the Dadri lynching, attacked the NDA government saying, “This government is neither for the minorities nor for the Dalits.”

“Today in this country, in the name of Hindutva ideology, there is no space left for any kind of protest. Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar in 1949 had warned the country about the RSS saying that they are a big threat to the nation.

“Today, we promise to follow the words of Ambedkar… We all will have to prepare ourselves to face a long fight against this Hindutva ideology party,” Ashutosh said at the protest at Jantar Mantar.

He also demanded Smriti Irani’s resignation saying, “The PM continues to shield ministers who ostracize Dalits. The PM should sack Bandaru Dattatreya, and Smriti Irani’s role should be probed.”

Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in the New Research Scholars’ Hostel of the University of Hyderabad on Sunday. He was one of the five Dalit students suspended and expelled from the hostel and was staging a protest on the campus for the past 15 days.

Protests escalated in Hyderabad and cities across the country including in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.

Student organisations including the All India Students Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI) and CYSS and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) held protests at Jantar Mantar and at the HRD ministry in the capital demanding the sacking of the ministers and strong action against the vice chancellor.

As many as 115 students were detained on Monday after a violent protest outside the HRD ministry.

Dattatreya and the vice chancellor were named in the FIR over the death, which triggered massive protests and demands for their removal from their posts.

Dattatreya had written a letter to Irani, seeking action against their “anti-national acts”.

The HRD ministry on Monday constituted a two-member fact finding team to look into the incident.

(Agencies)

Dalit student’s suicide ‘murder of democracy’: Kejriwal

by

Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday described the suicide of the Hyderabad Dalit student as “murder of democracy, social justice and equality”.

“It’s not suicide. It’s murder. It’s murder of democracy, social justice and equality. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji should sack ministers and apologise to the nation,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

“(The) Modi government (is) constitutionally duty bound to uplift Dalits. Instead, Modi ji’s ministers got five Dalit students ostracised and suspended.”

Rohith Vemula, a second-year research scholar of science, technology and society studies department at the University of Hyderabad, was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in the New Research Scholars’ Hostel late on Sunday.

He was one of the five Dalit students suspended and expelled from the hostel for staging a protest on the campus for the past 15 days.

(Agencies)

Smriti Irani’s five letters to Hyderabad Varsity in spotlight

by

smriti irani

Hyderabad: Following the death of Hyderabad Central University Research Scholar Rohith Vemula, six letters are in the spotlight, five of which have been written by Minister for Education Smriti Irani, asking answer from the University as to what action has been taken in connection to complaint by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

The letters were written in September, October and November.

On Sunday, Rohith was found hanging in the hostel from where he was banned two weeks ago. He and four other students were accused of attacking an activist of the BJP’s student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in August.

Though the university initially said that there was no evidence of the attack, four months later it suspended the five students and ordered them to stay away from the hostel and the cafeteria.

It is said that BJP Parliamentarian from Secunderabad Bandaru Dattatreya had written a letter to Education Minister Smriti Irani alleging that the university had become a “den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics”. He had also complained that the university had not acted against the attackers of the ABVP activist, Nandanam Susheel Kumar.

“Comments on VIP reference of Bandaru Dattatreya, MoS for Labour and Employment,” said the email dated 3 September.

Four more letters were sent to the university on September 24, on October 6 and 20, and on November 19.

The letters, almost identical in content, cited Mr Dattatreya’s letter and said “comments/facts had not been received so far”, indicating that the university had not responded to calls for action against the students.

Smriti Irani’s ministry then wrote an email and four letters to the university, attaching Mr Dattatreya’s complaint and asking what action had been taken.

It was on December 21 that the university reversed its earlier decision and took action against the students.

Smriti Irani has denied any interference. “All are familiar that administrative control is with the university and not with the government,” the minister said.

(Agencies)

SDPI stages protest outside MHRD over Dalit scholar’s death

by

SDPI

New Delhi: Social Democratic Party of India activists thronged outside the office of the Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry, in the national capital expressing ire over the unfortunate incident of a Dalit scholar’s alleged suicide in the University Campus.

It’s not a suicide but an institutional killing with the involvement of the BJP leaders, the university administration and the ABVP goons, said Mohammed Shafi during the protest. He further said it the Union Minister for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP MLC Ramachandra Rao and other BJP leaders and university administration are responsible for the Dalit students’ boycott and the subsequent circumstances forcing the Dalit scholar’s death. The matter becomes evident that letters on this matter were sent to the university by MHRD, said Shafi.

Mohammed Shafi demanded from the government that the student’s family must be compensated immediately and that the suspension of the Dalit students be revoked forthwith with an initiation of an independent and impartial inquiry into the alleged suicide of Rohit Vemula.

SDPI Delhi State President Aslam Ahmed said, it seems that the aspiring scholars have paid the price for raising voice against injustice meted out to the minority and backward communities, as they were part of several struggles including that of opposing the death sentence to Yaqub Memon and screening a documentary “Muzaffarnagar Baqi Hai”. The BJP MP, the union minister and all others should be booked for their role in creating a havoc in the Dalit students’ lives resulted by the ban, said Aslam.

The police disbursed the protesters by using water cannons as they tried to cross the barricades.

M Rafiq Jabbar Mulla, Irfan Ahmed, IA Khan, VakilJohree, MuslehuddinMirza, and huge number of Cadres and Members of the party participated in the protest demonstration led by Party’s National General Secretary Mohammed Shafi.

(Agencies)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives