Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written a letter urging Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to enact the Rohith Vemula Act in the state. Quoting the humiliating experiences faced by Dr B R Ambedkar due to caste-based discrimination, Rahul Gandhi said: “It is a shame that even today, millions of students from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities have to face such brutal discrimination in our educational system.”
“The murder of bright young people like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki is simply not acceptable. It is time to put a firm end to this. I urge the Telangana government to enact the Rohith Vemula Act so that no child of India has to face what Dr. B R Ambedkar, Rohit Vemula and millions of others have had to endure,” he wrote.
The suicide of Rohith Vemula, a University of Hyderabad PhD scholar, on January 17, 2016, became a national symbol of caste-based discrimination in Indian higher education.
A member of the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA), Vemula was suspended along with four others following a dispute with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right-wing student group. The suspension, coupled with the cessation of his fellowship, led to his social and financial isolation on campus. His death was termed "institutional murder.”
In his poignant suicide note, Rohith Vemula wrote, “My birth is my fatal accident.” His death sparked nationwide protests and intensified discussions about caste discrimination in educational institutions. While a government committee later questioned his Dalit status, many activists and scholars continue to regard his death as emblematic of systemic caste oppression.
After Rohith Vemula's death, Rahul Gandhi visited the University of Hyderabad and assured he would bring legislation against caste-based discrimination faced by students from marginalized communities.
Rohith’s mother Radhika Vemula also participated in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hyderabad in 2022. It was speculated that she was to join the Congress party but faced resistance from the local leaders against her induction.
A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi wrote a similar letter to Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah asking him to enact the Rohith Vemula Act.