University of Hyderabad students protesting demanding justice for Rohith Vemula. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statements regarding Rohith Vemula’s death and the movement for justice that followed, not only implicate Dalits and conscious, rational-minded people across the country as being driven by vested interests, but are also “severely degrading” Dalit movements, said Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) on Sunday.
Condemning the statements she made at Deccan College, Pune on May 4 (Saturday), ASA which has been spearheading the ‘Justice for Rohith Vemula’ movement along with several organisations said: “She (Nirmala Sitharaman) is overlooking the political interference of the BJP-led union ministers, which had resulted in an illegal social boycott of five Dalits from the Ambedkar Students Association.”
They noted that the letter written by then union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and strongly pursued by Minister for Education Smriti Irani, affected the illegal punishment. The same was reflected in the minutes of the 167th Executive Council on November 27, 2015.
They quoted: “The Vice-Chancellor briefed the Council of the incident that took place around midnight of August 3-4, 2015, on the campus of the University. The Council was further informed of the reply to be given by the University in response to a communication from the Ministry of HRD”.
Following this, research scholar Rohith Vemula had written to the Vice-Chancellor: “When ABVP president got questioned about his derogatory remarks on Dalits, your kind personal intervention into the issue is historic and exemplary. Five Dalit students are “socially boycotted” from campus spaces.” He further wrote in that letter: “Please serve 10mg of Sodium Azide to all the Dalit students at the time of admission. With the direction to use when they feel like reading Ambedkar. Supply a nice rope to the rooms of all Dalit students from your companion, the great chief warden.”
The ASA and the students’ front asserted that the struggle seeking justice for Rohith Vemula is based on documentary evidence and not fictitious narratives peddled by casteist individuals and political parties. “We want to inform everyone that a detailed report on the fabrication of the proof by the investigating officers will be released soon, thoroughly, with documentary evidence,” they stated.
