Overview

• Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has pledged to draft and enact the Rohith Vemula Act to eliminate caste-based discrimination in educational institutions.
• The announcement follows a letter from Rahul Gandhi urging action to address systemic discrimination faced by Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC students.
• The proposed law will mandate anti-discrimination cells, hold institutions accountable, and penalize perpetrators of caste-based harassment.
• The act is named after Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar whose 2016 suicide highlighted caste-based injustices in academia and sparked nationwide protests.
• This marks a significant step in fulfilling the Congress party's 2024 Nyay Patra manifesto promise to combat caste-based inequities in education.