Intellectuals lend support for Rohith law

“I wanted him to study medicine and become a doctor. We could not afford that, hence I thought he would complete his PhD and become Dr Rohith Chakravarthi. At least, I will see a ‘doctor’ before his name. Wish I had known what was happening to him..”

• Mother of Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide on campus of UoH, says she is a Dalit, but her husband belongs to Backward Classes
• ‘My husband has abandoned me after coming to know that I am Dalit’

Hyderabad: A panel of intellectuals on Thursday demanded that Rohith Act be introduced to end caste discrimination and to ensure that no Dalit student die in universities.

The panel comprising Gogu Shyamala, Dalit writer, Dr M M Vinodini, Associate Professor, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, K Sajaya, Caring Citizens’ Collective, Dr A Suneetha, Senior Fellow, Anveshi, Sandhya, Progressive Organisation for Women, Lakshmi Kutty, Doctoral Scholar, JNU, New Delhi and Mallu Swarajyam, freedom fighter lent their support for Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika at Lamakaan.

They felt that Radhika has been under attack in the patriarch society. Addressing the gathering Radhika said, “I am a Dalit woman. Rohith was taught BR Ambedkar’s philosophies. He grew up, imbibing these teachings. Rohith is a Dalit and a meritorious student. We are poor and he secured seat by the virtue of his merit.”

“I wanted him to study medicine and become a doctor. We could not afford that, hence I thought he would complete his PhD and become Dr Rohith Chakravarthi. At least, I will see a ‘doctor’ before his name. If I would have known that he would die, I would not have sent him to university,” she added.

Speaking about Rohith’s father and his caste, Radhika said, “My husband belongs to Backward Class. After he came to know that I am from Dalit community, he started torturing me. My in-laws had never touched my kids. I moved from the house and started living in Dalitwada. All my children have Dalit identities and they are still living with those identities.”

Talking about the University of Hyderabad Radhika said, “Students were sleeping on the roads and the management did not do anything. Now they are offering compensation. What should I do with the compensation after my son died? I want justice. I want to know why university expelled Dalit students, she added.