Rohith Vemula’s suicide

Rohith Vemula’s suicide 

HCU’s University had become dumb , deaf and blind without any action, when ASA had erected a stupa inside the university campus in the memory of Rohith Vemula. Even the hostel warden or security guard could not stop Rohith entering the hostel, as he was officially barred to enter it.  If they had done it, Rohith could have been alive and no one dared to raise this issue.  Fear to implement their own order will only end up in anarchy in university campus.  

Rohith Vemula, 26 year old PhD Scholar from Hyderabad Central University, tragically ended his own life on the 17th/18th January 2016 by hanging using the banner of ASA in the room 207 of one Umma Anna, in whose room Rohith was staying after being expelled from the hostel by the authorities at the Hyderabad Central University.  This incident had become the rallying point to highlight the issue as Dalit versus non-Dalit wherein all of BJP’s political rivals - Congress, Left, AAP, TMC  and AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) - flocked together to launch a concerted attack on the party holding it responsible for the sad incident. There were dharnas, protests and hunger strikes by the students of Hyderabad Central University inside the university campus and other university campuses - Jawaharlal Nehru University at New Delhi in particular - condemning the Central Government and in particular Modi alleging all as responsible for the suicide of Rohith Vemula. 

Political Leaders such as Kejriwal, Rahul, Sitaram Yechury, Derek O Brien, Asaduddin Owaisi had rushed to meet the agitating students belonging to the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) at the campus of Hyderabad Central University and had offered their full support for their demands. Rahul Gandhi again visited the agitating students and even participated in their hunger strike and compared Rohith Vemula with Mahatma Gandhi without realising that whatever might be the provocations/reasons, suicide is a crime as per Indian law and hence eulogizing the person died due to suicide is illegal and equally condemnable.  In these crowd mentality of surcharged high decibel voices of protests and making Rohith to the stature of  martyr worthy of emulation, such nuances and salient views will be drowned and ruthlessly condemned even to the extent of murderous attempts on the opponents. Rohith’s own quote – ‘Your teeth will come down, my sword goes up’ -  is sufficient to prove my inferences as stated above.   

Riyaz with his friend Rohith. (Photo provided by Sheikh Riyaz)

  Nearly 131 leading scholars around the world signed an open letter published on Jan. 19 itself - next day of Rohith’s suicide - in The Hindu newspaper calling for measures “to ensure that such students are supported and allowed to thrive when they enter what is all too often the hostile, casteist environment of higher education in India.” The suddenness and hurry of these foreign intellectuals to shoot an open letter on the very next day of sad suicide incident betray their sincerities and honesties - they might be gloating over this as a golden opportunity to beat again Modi Government.

And again The New York Times by the Editorial Board on the 27th January 2016,while reporting the suicide incident, had amongst other things stated that Modi must do more than merely regretting that ‘a mother has lost a son’ with members of his government implicated in the circumstances that apparently led Mr.Vemula to take his life and that the university administration suspended Vemula and four other students, barring them from the meal and residence halls - allegedly under direct pressure from Modi’s cabinet. Internationalising local  suicide by a foreign newspaper is being tolerated – So much Tolerance in India! 

This is not the first occasion that suicides in the same campus had occurred and there were nine suicides earlier and Vemula’s suicide was the tenth and none of the earlier suicides had become a big issue.

Let us bring all details pertaining to Vemula’s suicides to put thing in a proper perspective without fear or favour so that one can see truth, justice and fair play.

Rohith Vemulal’s father is Manikumar who belongs to Vaddera caste (OBC) and his mother Radhika belongs to Mala caste (SC). They were married, when Radhika was only 14 years of age. On knowing his wife belongs to SC, Manikumar felt that he was cheated and treated his wife badly and hence Radhika left her husband to live separately along with her children.

 Nileema, the eldest, Rohith in the middle and Raja, the youngest – all three children were born in the first five years of the marriage. It was revealed by Manikumar that Rohith and his mother were converted to Christianity in 2005 and Rohith was renamed Chakravarti.

Radhika had shown a certificate issued by the Revenue Department of Government of Andhra Pradesh on June 16, 2015 wherein Rohith caste is indicated as Mala (SC) community. But, it is also a fact that Rohith’s father belongs to OBC and caste mentioned in the birth certificate of Rohith is Vaddera (OBC). Hence, it becomes a legal issue to decide whether Rohith is a Dalit or OBC. Further conversion of religion also is involved to decide his status of caste. The community certificate of  Rohith dated 16-06-2015 bears his name as Vemula Rohit Chakravarti, S/O, Vemula Naga Mani Kumar. Hence, it is quite evident that Rohith’s caste is not a straight indisputable case.  

Radhika and her children were being sheltered by Anjani Devi who is being called as adopted mother of Radhika, but, Radhika was not treated well by her having asked to do all household work which was an eyesore for Rohith and hence, Rohith avoided his visits to his adopted grand mother’s house. Even after they moved to a single room apartment one kilo meter away, Rohith’s mother was called upon to do the household work at Anjani Devi’s house much to the disgust of Rohith. Hence, his childhood memories were not pleasant - though he could not blame anybody except his relatives.  Anjani Devi was more a benevolent employer than a caring mother.

Brahmin: Tyrant or Oppressed :The British were not wrong in their distrust of educated Brahmins in whom they saw a potential threat to their supremacy in India. For instance, in 1879 the Collector of Tanjore in a communication to Sir James Caird, member of the Famine Commission, stated that "there was no class (except Brahmins ) which was so hostile to the English." The predominance of the Brahmins in the freedom movement confirmed the worst British suspicions of the community. Innumerable CID reports of the period commented on Brahmin participation at all levels of the nationalist movement. In the words of an observer, "If any community could claim credit for driving the British out of the country, it was the Brahmin community. Seventy per cent of those who were felled by British bullets were Brahmins”

Rohith did his B.Sc. in Hindu College, Guntur and there Sheikh Riyaz became his good friend that continued even after he joined Hyderabad Central University. Sheikh Riyaz had summed up Rohith’s life thus:  "His family story haunted Rohith all his life. He faced caste discrimination in the house where he grew up. But instead of succumbing, Rohith fought it out. He broke many barriers before he got to the final stretch, his PhD. He gave up when he realised he could go no further."

Rohith had got his M.Sc. from HCU and he could pursue his Ph.D. with a stipend of Rs.28,000/-  a month and subsidised food and shelter in the University hostel. His facebook postings would prove that he started admiring Swami Vivekananda – even having his portrait at his room but later became his hater. He then switched over to the Anna Hazare Movement and then became the admirer of Aaam Admi Pary and Kejriwal. Thereafter, he started supporting Anarchy Policy as a solution for the society. He became very active office bearer of ASA. He was a member of SFI before he joined the ASA. And at last, Rohith became the admirer and follower of Owaisi - by stating : Owaisi - The Alternative - wherein Owaisi said in his facebook comment: Muslims - Dalits come together. As a follow up and with the Owaisi mindset, he began to oppose the death sentence of Yakub Memon. His face book remarks on 28th October 2015 will reveal his anarchic thinking: Not left, not left liberals and not even left radicals. Only radical Ambedkar can liberate us. Only a radical Ambedkar can give us mukti.

Rohith’s wavering, confused, agitated and undemocratic mind-set had done maximum damage to the tenets of Ambedkar who was against ‘Communism - Islamism’ without himself realising the ground realities. Perhaps his comrades might not have allowed him to change his course midway - as his thoughts were being influenced quite often leading to troubled mind-set. Careful reading of Rohith’s suicide note - especially those deleted 11 lines - would support my conclusion.

Let us narrate the sequence of events leading to his suspension and then expulsion from hostel and his suicide 12 days after the expulsion.

qOn August 5, 2015 the university set up an inquiry against Rohith and four other ASA members, two days after they allegedly assaulted ABVP leader N Susheel Kumar.

qOn August 17, 2015 Dattatreya wrote to HRD Minister urging action and claiming that the "Hyderabad University…has in the recent past, become a den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics". (Refer: Slide 21).

qAfter a series of flip-flops, the five were suspended in September, 2015.

qOn December 17, 2015 the decision was upheld.

qOn January 3, 2016 after the sanction was confirmed, the five moved out of their hostel rooms to a tent they set up inside the campus and began a "relay hunger protest".

qOn January 17, 2016 Rohith committed suicide in the hostel room.

qA police case was lodged in the context of his suicide and included the name of Bandaru Dattatreya, Bharatiya Janata Party's MP from Secunderabad and Indian government's Minister of Labour and Employment.

qCourt case was filed by N Susheel Kumar against Rohith and four other ASA members for their assault during last year and hearing is on.

 Rohith and his members of ASA were actually condemning the verdict of Supreme Court in awarding death sentence to Yakub Menon with protests march, agitations etc. having their placards declaring: Every house will deliver yakub - which on the face of it is an open challenge to the apex court. ASA’s claim that their protests were only against the capital punishment was a weak point.

Now the authorities had almost conceded almost all their demands, though, ASA had reluctantly allowed the university to function in the meantime. 

üThe present Vice Chancellor Appa Rao was asked to go on long leave. Prof. Vipin Shrivastava was appointed the in-charge vice-chancellor.

üAn ex gratia of Rs.8 lakh to Rohith's family (though not in consonance with the Rs. 50 lakh compensation demanded).

üThe executive council has revoked the punishment imposed on five students, who were suspended, of course, with a rider that the decision is subject to the verdict of courts of law in the various cases.

üBased on its observations and findings, the HRD ministry decided 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.  The ministry took this decision based on the findings and observations of a fact-finding committee constituted to conduct an inquiry.

Rohith’s suicide note is a moving one which will make us feel for him.  It is revealed that Rohith, who wrote the letter on the morning of January 17, kept it in his pocket as he attended an ASA meeting in the afternoon. A few lines were deleted by him and he was prudent enough to indicate therein that ‘I myself strike these words off’ under his full signature and then killed himself. Perhaps his last meeting with ASA members might have made him to delete those lines. Still, it exposes that there are many self-seeking persons in ASA and SFI which need overhauling to achieve Dalitism as expounded by Ambedkar.

To sum up:

vIn the initial period at HCU, Rohith was study and career oriented and his roommates seemed to be not-interested much in politics. But subsequently, due to the influence of his active involvement in SFI/ASA, he could not concentrate on his research to get his Ph.D. which, by his own assertion to his bosom friend Sheikh Riyaz - Hindu College, Guntur friend was his goal.

vRohith was very emotional and introvert and aggressive in his thoughts and approaches.

vRohith did not have a friend like Sheikh Riyaz in HCU with whom he could confide. All were politically surcharged guys - always instigating to agitate without caring to educate and organize in a more sustained manner.

vIn words, Rohith was brave; in deeds, he seemed to be coward. But, yet, he is honest and humble in his thoughts. Even his suicide note is a testimony to prove his honesty and simplicity.

vIn short, Rohith Vemula Wanted To Be Carl Sagan, But Karl Marx Ruined Him 

His birth certificate where he is said to belong to Waddera(OBC)

Full text of Bandaru Dattatry letter to MHRD Smritiirani

The portion of the note that Vemula, perhaps on second thoughts, decided to keep concealed, reads: "ASA, SFI, anything and everything exist for their own sake. Seldom the interest of a person and these organisations match. To get power or to become famous or to be important in between boundaries and to think we are up to changing the system, very often we overestimate our acts and find solace in traits. Of course I must give my credit to these both groups for making introducing me to wonderful literature and people. (sic)"

Full Text of Rohit Vemula’s Suicide Letter

Good morning,

I would not be around when you read this letter. Don’t get angry on me. I know some of you truly cared for me, loved me and treated me very well. I have no complaints on anyone. It was always with myself I had problems. I feel a growing gap between my soul and my body.

And I have become a monster. I always wanted to be a writer. A writer of science, like Carl Sagan. At last, this is the only letter I am getting to write.

I always wanted to be a writer. A writer of science, like Carl Sagan.

I loved Science, Stars, Nature, but then I loved people without knowing that people have long since divorced from nature.

Our feelings are second handed. Our love is constructed. Our beliefs colored. Our originality valid through artificial art. It has become truly difficult to love without getting hurt.

The value of a man was reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility. To a vote. To a number. To a thing. Never was a man treated as a mind. As a glorious thing made up of star dust. In every field, in studies, in streets, in politics, and in dying and living.

I am writing this kind of letter for the first time. My first time of a final letter. Forgive me if I fail to make sense.

My birth is my fatal accident. I can never recover from my childhood loneliness. The unappreciated child from my past.

May be I was wrong, all the while, in understanding world. In understanding love, pain, life, death. There was no urgency. But I always was rushing. Desperate to start a life. All the while, some people, for them, life itself is curse. My birth is my fatal accident. I can never recover from my childhood loneliness. The unappreciated child from my past.

(Here the deleted lines were written – For the text, please refer previous slide)

I am not hurt at this moment. I am not sad. I am just empty. Unconcerned about myself. That’s pathetic. And that’s why I am doing this.

People may dub me as a coward. And selfish, or stupid once I am gone. I am not bothered about what I am called. I don’t believe in after-death stories, ghosts, or spirits. If there is anything at all I believe, I believe that I can travel to the stars. And know about the other worlds.

If you, who is reading this letter can do anything for me, I have to get 7 months of my fellowship, one lakh and seventy five thousand rupees. Please see to it that my family is paid that. I have to give some 40 thousand to Ramji. He never asked them back. But please pay that to him from that.

Let my funeral be silent and smooth. Behave like I just appeared and gone. Do not shed tears for me. Know that I am happy dead than being alive.

“From shadows to the stars.”

Uma anna, sorry for using your room for this thing.

To ASA family, sorry for disappointing all of you. You loved me very much. I wish all the very best for the future.

For one last time,

Jai Bheem

I forgot to write the formalities. No one is responsible for my this act of killing myself.

No one has instigated me, whether by their acts or by their words to this act.

This is my decision and I am the only one responsible for this.

Do not trouble my friends and enemies on this after I am gone.