Rohith suicide: Politics of vulturisation

Common sense seems to be uncommon. One fails to understand how does a minister who forwards a student body representation to a ministry concerned be directly abetting a suicide? How’s it that a ministry which oversees an entire nation’s human resource system be accountable for an individual’s self-inflicted action? How’s it a student body which brain washes young people like Rohith to support terrorists through protesting against a legal execution of a terrorist is not in abetment? How’s it that all the political vultures who descended on the campus after two days of Rohith’s suicide, making vicious, divisive, casteist and hateful political speeches, are not in abetment to future suicides of students across this country?

Whatever the reason might be, death of a young person is certainly painful across the world. Rohith case is no different, except it’s a suicide and surely is more painful. The reason we differentiate a child from an adult is purely for consequential action. Children cannot be held responsible for their actions till a certain age.

However, when one turns an adult, every single action is accountable, the consequences will have to be owned up. If a society starts looking for excuses to justify a suicide or shift responsibility of an adult’s extreme action to a minister, a university, a ministry or even a government, that surely sets a wrong precedence.

No matured society can afford to indirectly promote suicides of young people by finding valid reasons for this despicable action. There should be no reason which should justify killing one’s self, especially a highly educated, young person. Rohith is a 26-year-old, a second year PhD scholar – a full blown adult who had an entire life ahead of him.

Should a suspension from residing in a hostel of a university, or even any other more severe academic punishment, push him to end his life? Is it not the responsibility of the society at large, that we have allowed our young people to grow up so weak & timid? Is it not the fault of our 70-year-old education system, which has not built our youngsters to withstand small obstacles?

Is it not the fault of the new age concept of friends, who are with us all the time but really not there, when one needs them the most emotionally? And finally is it not Rohith’s fault to come all this way & end his precious life for an insipid issue? Instead of debating how we can rebuild the resilience of the young people of this nation, instead of debating how we can strengthen the community, family, peer support system to ensure no such cases repeat, instead of inspiring young people to fight for their rights, if someone undermines them, a few sections of the fourth estate & political parties in this nation have unleashed gutter level public discourse, making a tragic death of a student, a fit case for caste politics.

The negative impact of politicisation of these kind of cases on the society and its natural progression to trigger more such incidents in the ecosystem is not even a random thought which would cross the minds of those who are fighting for earning political scores. Holding the individual accountable for his action and making an example, which should not be followed by any other young person in this great nation, should have been a right step in the right direction for nation-building.

However, the current politics of this country has nothing to do with nation-building. The young man, who personally took his life and left a very clearly written suicide note stating the clarity of purpose in his action, was not even condemned in sympathy. None of the speech makers condemned his action as wrong, unexemplary, weak & that he could have lived to fight, if there were any violations over his rights.

India is no banana republic; we are a constitution-led nation. We have legal, judicial, executive & legislative infrastructure to challenge any violation of individual rights. There’s simply no need for anyone to end their life in despair. Someone as learned and as educated like Rohith should easily understand his constitutional rights and avenues to seek, if his rights are challenged by any individual or institution.

In fact, Rohith and his friends have already sought court intervention in this case. What triggered Rohith’s action to commit a suicide is still a mystery. Nowhere in the world will a suicide of a student and his caste be made a national, political spectacle and be branded as caste discrimination.

Some sections of the media and political parties continue to engage in caste politics, even after the student was cleared of that mistaken identity. Caste politics in this country has stooped to an abysmal low that even the tragic death of a young person has turned into a game for earning political capital.

Many ethically bankrupt political leaders and their parties rushed to earn the equity of this new found political currency. In a healthier, matured and a responsible society, any case of suicide will be dealt through a systemic process. If it’s a sensitive case, it’s dealt with more sensitivity so that the social harmony is not disturbed for a personal action committed by an adult.

In contrary, in our country, sensitive issues are dealt in a rude, abrasive, confrontational and purely political manner. A society which does not deal with dead sensitively, how will it deal with the living? Common sense seems to be uncommon. One fails to understand how does a minister who forwards a student body representation to a ministry concerned be directly abetting a suicide?

How’s it that a ministry which oversees an entire nation’s human resource system be accountable for an individual’s self-inflicted action? How’s it a student body which brain washes young people like Rohith to support terrorists through protesting against a legal execution of a terrorist is not in abetment ? How’s it that all the political vultures who descended on the campus after two days of Rohithh’s suicide, making vicious, divisive, casteist and hateful political speeches, are not in abetment to future suicides of students across this country?

It’s a shame that even after 70 years of independence, we are not in a position to build a nation with its indigenous culture and intrinsic value system. It’s a shame that every small and big event in this country is politically exploited to only further divide & vitiate the society which is already broken into pieces in the name of religion, region, caste & creed.

It’s about time we rebuilt this nation with ‘India-centric core values’ which can allow young people to think freely, openly and withstand all obstacles to live and add value to other people’s lives. (The author is a BJP spokesperson)