Two years ago Rohith Vemula a Dalit and student at the University of Hyderabad committed suicide due to the unfair treatment towards Dalits. On the second anniversary of Rohith’s suicide his mother, Radhika Vemula spoke at the Rohith Vemula Shahadath Din (Martyrdom Day) meeting.
At the meet, Radhika was quoted saying, “Smriti Irani, I won’t forgive you. You may change your Ministry but I will never forget you. I’m sending my kids (Dalit-Bahujans) to Parliament where they will question you and haunt you.”
Radhika stated the Government would not be able to disprove her Dalit identity even though it has been two years since her son committed suicide. The event was held at the Savithru Phule Auditorium at the University of Hyderabad. Radhika attacked the government for trying to discredit her identity. She was quoted saying, “Narendra Modi is not a BC as he claims, he is a Baniya. This truth will come out soon. Who are these people who question me?”
The University barred the media from covering the event, to which Radhika questioned, “This is a conspiracy by the administration. They don’t want the media and the public in general to know what we are talking about and what is happening in the university. If police is allowed inside, why not the media?”
The emotional mother said it was important for all the Dalits to unite and reject the fascist forces against them. She said, “Don’t feel safe that none can do anything since this is your government. After the fall of your Government, it is the Dalit government which is going to be formed.”
On Wednesday, Radhika Vemula wept as she visited the bust of Rohith and put a garland to commemorate the day. Radhika broke down in front of the bust which she got to see after two years.
In 2016, Rohith was expelled from the University along with four of his friends for allegedly assaulting an ABVP leader. Due to this injustice, Rohith faced he decided to hang himself in the University hostel on the 17th of January. Rohith’s suicide sparked outrage in the country after his suicide note was released. The note spoke of Rohith’s dreams and the way this castist world crushed all his hopes and dreams.
