Overview
- Rohith Vemula died by suicide on January 17, 2016, weeks after his hostel expulsion following an ASA-ABVP dispute, and his note decried caste discrimination with the line, “My birth was my fatal accident.”
- The Ambedkar Students Association has renewed its push for a ‘Rohith Vemula Act’ to counter caste bias in higher education.
- Congress governments in Karnataka and Telangana have expressed interest in such legislation, but political opposition has stalled any move toward passage.
- On January 17, student groups plan a ‘Shahadat Din’ event featuring the families of Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki along with Congress leader Jignesh Mevani.
- Rohith’s mother, Radhika, recently underwent stent implantation after a stroke, his brother Raja shifted to caregiving, law and driving work, and expelled peers report lasting setbacks, with one turning to farming and pig rearing and another moving into private university teaching.