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The Wire
a day ago
- Politics
- The Wire
In Critique of Draft Rohith Vemula Bill, UN Experts Urge Stronger Safeguards for SC, ST Students
New Delhi: Two United Nations special rapporteurs have issued a detailed statement raising concerns and offering recommendations on the draft Rohith Vemula (Prevention of Exclusion or Injustice) (Right to Education and Dignity) Bill proposed by the Karnataka government and urged the government to consider them. Ashwini K.P., special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, and Nicolas Levrat, special rapporteur on minority issues, noted that while the Bill aims to combat caste-based discrimination in higher education, it lacks key human rights protections and clarity in legal definitions. The draft legislation of the law, named after Rohith Vemula, seeks to criminalise discrimination against students from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and religious minorities in educational institutions. The special rapporteurs come under the purview of the 'special procedures' of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC); they are 'independent human rights experts' who are mandated by the UN to report and advise on 'human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective'. Under their special mandate from the UNHRC, they have highlighted 'several human rights considerations that should be considered during the ongoing development of the legislation'. UN concerns on the draft Bill The special rapporteurs stated that the draft Bill does not mention 'specific protection for Dalits and Adivasis against disproportionate discrimination in various areas' and urged the drafting committee to 'explicitly' include provisions for their protection. Ashwini K.P., replying to an email questionnaire by The Wire, said: 'The current draft clubs OBCs, SC, ST and minority communities together. All of them face marginalisation, but it's crucial to understand and recognise the heterogeneous nature of their experiences. The persistent and systematic forms of discrimination that Dalit and Adivasi students face require explicit acknowledgement.' They also claimed that there is a lack of definition for 'direct or indirect discrimination', which could result in the law failing to provide 'comprehensive protection' to those affected. It could also lead to misuse of the law and oppression of activities unrelated to the law, including those in the 'defence of human rights'. The draft includes provisions to imprison a person convicted of discriminating against SC, ST, OBC and minority students for up to one year or impose a fine of Rs 10,000. Heads of higher education institutions will also be held liable, and the institutions may lose government aid or grants in case of such convictions. The punitive nature of the draft law was also criticised. They warned that it may 'undermine the promotion of understanding, tolerance and friendship among racial or ethnic groups'. Focusing on addressing the social roots of caste-based discrimination, the rapporteurs recommended placing greater emphasis on effective 'preventive measures' such as orientation programmes and educational awareness campaigns. To ensure effective implementation, they also recommended setting up a grievance redressal mechanism, ensuring 'protection for whistleblowers' and introducing 'accountability measures' for educational institutions that fail to comply. The special rapporteurs also claimed that the Bill's drafting process has not been sufficiently deliberative and has not included the 'voices of those who may experience caste-based discrimination and harassment, including Dalit and Adivasi students, scholars and activists'. They called upon the committee to introduce provisions that make the process more transparent, consultative and participatory. Finally, the rapporteurs noted the need for diversity and proportional representation in the drafting committee itself and urged that there be 'proportionate caste, gender and geographical representation from the state of Karnataka in the committee'. The political equation The move to draft this law comes after leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, wrote a letter to the three Congress-led state governments in April urging them to enact the law that was promised in the party's 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto. Following this, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah instructed his legal adviser to prepare a draft of the Bill. 'The Union government brushed the incident under the carpet although it was clear that Rohith Vemula was targeted because of his [Dalit] caste,' said minister Priyank Kharge confirming that he provided inputs for drafting the Bill. However, Ashwini claimed that the Indian government 'has not approached the UNHRC or any other international bodies for recommendations'. Meanwhile, the BJP's leader of opposition in the Karnataka legislative council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, agreed that caste-based discrimination should be banned but questioned whether such discrimination can be addressed solely through legislation. This is not the first time that such a demand has been raised. In 2019, Radhika Vemula and Abeda Tadvi – the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi – filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding that the government enforce the 2012 University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations that aim to protect vulnerable students from discrimination in educational institutions. The UGC guidelines also have a specific definition of 'discrimination' and various kinds of discriminatory behaviour, but in January 2025, after the case was heard only for the second time, the UGC released new draft regulations intended to replace the 2012 ones. N. Sukumar, a professor at Delhi University, noted in an interview to Scroll that in the new draft, 'these terms are loosely defined'. When the various aspects of the problem are not properly defined, 'there is hardly any scope to address the issues of caste on the campus.' Rohith Vemula and a legacy of institutional violence Vemula, a PhD scholar belonging to Dalit community at the University of Hyderabad, was among five students suspended in September 2015 following a complaint filed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP's ideological fountainhead. His monthly research fellowship of Rs 25,000 was also discontinued, reportedly due to his activities in the Ambedkar Students' Association. The ABVP's complaint was forwarded by then-Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya to then-human resource development minister Smriti Irani, who subsequently asked the university to take appropriate action. Following their suspension and removal from university housing, the students began a relay hunger strike and stayed in a temporary tent on campus. On January 17, 2016, Vemula died by suicide, leaving behind a note in which he expressed a deep sense of disillusionment and described his birth as a 'fatal accident'. His death was one amongst numerous such incidents in the past two decades where a Dalit student was allegedly pushed over the edge and died by suicide. Activists consider these to be 'institutional murders', since every part of the education institution – including the student body, the faculty and the administration – are said to work in tandem to make sure that caste hierarchies are upheld and no voices can be raised against it. This leaves the student completely cornered. Some say that caste-based discrimination, humiliating abuse and alienation by peers have pushed students like Payal Tadvi, Darshan Solanki, Ayush Ashna and Varad Sanjay Nerkar over the edge. They were allegedly targeted for belonging to a certain caste and viewed as not fit to be in such institutions. There are no avenues for redressal of complaints as well, since the administration too engages in suppressing their voices, activists say. While a few of these cases received media attention, many others were recorded through an independent study by the Delhi-based Insight Foundation, led by educationist Anoop Kumar. Path ahead Ashwini claims that 'currently there is no specific legislation in India which addresses caste-based discrimination in higher education for Dalit and Adivasi students. While some mechanisms such as grievance redressal cells exist in colleges and universities, there is no exclusive framework to protect students from marginalised backgrounds in academic spaces.' Therefore, although some critics believe that the draft Rohith Vemula (Prevention of Exclusion or Injustice) (Right to Education and Dignity) Bill is a politically motivated move by the Congress, Ashwini believes that 'the intention behind the Rohith Vemula Act is to fill this gap and ensure a safe space for students coming from marginalised backgrounds'. Such a law becomes crucial in an education system where, according to her, 'student suicides among marginalised communities highlight the disproportionate discrimination faced by them'. She claims that there is a pattern of structural exclusion and systematic discrimination against Dalit and Adivasi students, and that this legislation is important to create a 'safer academic environment' for them. But critics also raise questions of political motivation and appropriation of the long-fought struggles of activists like Radhika Vemula and Abeda Tadvi in creating an equitable and safe educational space by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. According to the UNHRC special rapporteurs, the draft law has the potential to make effective changes – but this can only be realised if such expert criticism and recommendations are taken into account and the drafting process becomes more publicly participatory. Tamoghna Chakraborty is an intern at The Wire. If you know someone – a friend or a family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. The TeleManas helpline, a government helpline, functions 24×7, its numbers are 1-800 891-4416 or 14416. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BRS moots declaring 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli land as Rohith Vemula Biodiversity Sanctuary
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has requested the State government to declare the 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli land abutting the University of Hyderabad (UoH) as protected land and name it after Rohith Vemula on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity observed on May 22 every year. Senior leader of the party and former MP B. Vinod Kumar asked the State government as well as the national authorities concerned to take a historic and symbolic step and declare the land which was once allotted to UoH as the Rohith Vemula Biodiversity Sanctuary. The UoH was not only a premier academic institution but also one of the richest urban biodiversity zones in the country. Its sprawling 2,300-acre campus is a living ecological reserve and it is home to over 734 species of flowering plants, 10 species of mammals, 15 species of reptiles and more than 220 species of birds, the BRS leader said on Thursday. The BRS leader also proposed forming an ecological management committee with representation from UoH students, faculty, ecologists and civil society, launching biodiversity education and justice-based awareness programmes within the sanctuary to engage students and citizens alike.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Opinion Rahul Gandhi's call to pass Rohith Vemula Act is welcome but its effectiveness in creating a more equitable social environment will depend on the details
On January 17, 2016, Rohith Vemula — a scholar who loved the stars and wanted to become a writer like Carl Sagan — died by suicide on the Hyderabad Central University campus. His death stirred up a mass movement that brought into sharp focus the rampant institutionalised casteism within Indian academia. According to the IC3 institute reports, more than 13,000 students die by suicide annually in India. This number, most likely much higher due to under-reporting of such events, is still just the tip of the iceberg. Suicide is the most extreme step that a student often considers as the only way when all other measures to cope fail. Most of them try to absorb the trauma, resulting in mental health issues, declining confidence and performance, self-harm or dropping out altogether. At the core of this issue lies the attitude of academic administrators and professors who mistake piling on pressure, and often abuse, on students as a praxis of 'rigour'. Mostly, any talk of softness and empathy is dismissed as 'weakness'. Sociologically, this attitude towards learning stems from the tradition of guru-shishya Parampara. In this framework, the 'guru' is all-knowing and is usually never wrong, while the 'shishya' can only learn through 'pariksha' or an ever-intensifying series of challenges and tests. Ostensibly, absorbing such principles, higher education becomes a journey where the students are constantly forced to prove that they are worthy enough for the institutions to teach them. In a caste-ridden society like India, this is a dangerous framework for higher-education institutions (HEIs). Due to centuries of exclusion, thousands of castes in the country do not have the privilege of intergenerational literacy or formalised learning traditions. Such a society needs an empathetic framework of upskilling and educating its masses. In its absence, structurally, we are bound to end up with a deeply alienating system where most former students remember their learning years as a period of discomfort and trauma, not one of joy and discovery. Against this backdrop, Rahul Gandhi's request to the chief ministers of the three Congress-ruled states — Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh — to enact a 'Rohith Vemula Act' aimed at dealing with the caste discrimination in HEIs is a welcome move. While details of the legislation are yet to be clear, it appears each state will have its own version with some common pointers: Marking the denial to admission or amenities to the SC/ST/OBC students or demanding money from them as cognisable offences; provisions for financial compensation in the case of student suicides, etc. While these are well-thought-out provisions, the effectiveness of such a bill in creating a more inclusive and equitable social environment will depend on the details of the legislation. After all, caste discrimination and humiliation are multifaceted and embedded in a variety of social behaviours, rituals and policies. Addressing them requires more than a token law and a compensation promise. First, Indian HEIs have historically been known for evading accountability and rendering complaint cells impotent by staffing them with pliant personnel and friendly external interlocutors whose primary motivation seems to be safeguarding institutional reputation. The law must be mindful of this and provide for a time-bound, transparent and independent complaint redressal mechanism. Second, while sensitisation has been mandated on ragging and gender safety, no Indian HEI, in all likelihood, takes similar initiatives to sensitise students on caste. This is an extremely important step as most Indian schools end up incepting students with a deep resentment towards caste-based affirmative action due to differential admission cut-offs for most HEIs. No mandated intervention counters this by explaining affirmative action principles, making a data-driven case for caste diversity and addressing the importance of bringing marginalised caste groups to higher education institutions for national capacity-building. Third, beyond complaints and sensitisation, the structural composition of caste within academia also needs to be addressed. There is no better buffer against brazen casteism than bringing on board a higher proportion of SC/ST/OBC faculty within the administration. Presently, most public institutions flout reservation mandates in hiring, while private HEIs have inexplicably been given a free rein in this regard. As a result, the administrative bodies responsible for policy in these institutions are thoroughly dominated by 'upper castes'. If the Rohith Vemula Act is to make a real difference, it needs to address this caste imbalance. Lastly, the act would also need to outline clear punitive measures against institutions that violate the mandates. These measures must be severe, such as revocation of recognition and rankings, heavy fines and criminal charges against the administrations, with a commitment from the state to enforce the same. Without this, the inactivity of these administrations on caste matters will not be shaken.
New Indian Express
23-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
CM Revanth Reddy responds to Rahul Gandhi's call
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy offered a heartfelt response to former AICC president Rahul Gandhi's call for enacting the Rohith Vemula Act to combat caste-based discrimination in educational institutions. In a letter dated April 17, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha cited the experiences of Dr BR Ambedkar and recent tragedies involving Dalit students — Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki — calling the discrimination faced by students a 'shame' and a 'brutal' reality that continues to haunt India's educational campuses. Rahul Gandhi urged Congress-led states to pass the legislation as a step toward justice and reform. From Hiroshima, Japan, Revanth Reddy acknowledged the letter on X, stating: 'Dear @RahulGandhi Ji, I read your letter in the historic city of Hiroshima, Japan. Deeply touched by your words and the inspiring call for action. We will go forward with the spirit of your thoughts and feelings in making a future we can be proud of.' Rahul Gandhi has long supported the cause, notably joining University of Hyderabad (UoH) students in a hunger strike after Rohith Vemula's death in 2016. Following recent consultations with students and intellectuals, he sent letters to Congress-led governments in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, pressing for swift action on the proposed legislation.
The Print
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Rahul pushes Cong govts on Rohith Vemula law, even though Telangana Police closed suicide case last yr
'The murder of bright young people like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki is simply not acceptable,' the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in his letter to CM Reddy and Sukhu dated 17 April, but made public by himself on X Monday. The letter to Siddaramaiah, dated 16 April, was also revealed on X by Rahul earlier Friday. The Congress scion sent identical letters to two other Congress chief ministers—Siddaramaiah in Karnataka and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Himachal Pradesh. Hyderabad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has urged the Revanth Reddy government in Telangana to enact a legislation named after Hyderabad Central University Ph.D. scholar Rohith Vemula 'to put a firm end' to caste-based discrimination in educational institutions. जब तक हर छात्र को बिना भेदभाव के सम्मान, सुरक्षा और समान अवसर नहीं मिलेगा, तब तक हमारी शिक्षा व्यवस्था सभी के लिए न्यायपूर्ण नहीं हो सकती। कर्नाटक के मुख्यमंत्री सिद्धारमैया जी को पत्र लिखने के बाद मैंने हिमाचल प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री सुखविंदर सिंह सुक्खू जी और तेलंगाना के… — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 21, 2025 However, Rahul Gandhi asking Revanth to enact the Rohith Vemula Act—'so that no child of India has to face what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Rohith Vemula and millions of others have had to endure'—comes about a year after the Telangana police in their closure report in the case said that Vemula was not a Dalit. Although CM Reddy assured Vemula's family that the case would be reinvestigated, there has been no progress on that front. The police report, revealed in May last year, stated that Vemula was not a Dalit and that his death by suicide had been driven 'by apprehensions that his real caste identity would be discovered'. The closure report before a court also noted that Vemula had 'multiple issues worrying him, and they would have driven him to end his life'. Vemula's death by suicide in January 2016 triggered nationwide protests over the cases of discrimination against Dalits in universities. However, claiming that the caste certificates of the Vemula family were forged, the police report said the case had been closed on account of lack of evidence. The report also gave a clean chit to the accused, absolving then Secunderabad MP, Union minister and now Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, then BJP MLC N. Ramchander Rao and then University of Hyderabad vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile, and some Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists. The police investigation report noted that no evidence was found to establish that the actions of the accused persons, including discrimination, drove Vemula to the extreme step. After the report absolved them, one of the accused, Ramchander Rao, said the Congress and Left parties were attempting to gain political mileage by linking Vemula's death to the BJP. Speaking to ThePrint Monday, Rao accused Rahul Gandhi of 'politicising the issue further and shedding crocodile tears for Rohith Vemula', even as the Congress government in Telangana was clearing forest cover at HCU and had lathi-charged, detained, and booked students protesting the auction of 400 acres of Kancha Gachibowli land—once part of the central university. 'There are enough laws to deal with caste-based discrimination in our country. Vemula ending his life was tragic, but why is Rahul Gandhi still harping on the matter when under his party government, the Telangana police, closed the case before a court, absolving us all who were wrongly implicated as abetting the student's suicide?' Rao also pointed out that the lengthy note Vemula wrote before hanging himself in a hostel room on the HCU campus on 17 January, 2016, did not blame or name anyone. Also read: Rahul calls EC 'compromised' at an event in US, BJP hits back over repeated 'anti-India' remarks abroad Who was Rohith Vemula? Vemula's caste affiliation has been under scrutiny since his death, which his friends and family alleged was a result of caste-based discrimination he suffered on the HCU campus. Vemula was born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. His father, Mani Kumar, belongs to the Vaddera community, classified as an OBC. His mother, Radhika, was born into a Scheduled Caste Mala family but was raised in an OBC family. Following her estrangement from her husband, Radhika raised the children on her own. At the time of his suicide, Vemula and four other members of the Ambedkar Students' Association had been suspended from the university hostel and certain designated areas on campus. In protest, they set up a tent on the university grounds, where they had been living. The disciplinary action by the university, based on a committee's review, followed a complaint that Vemula and the four others had violently assaulted ABVP leader Nandanam Susheel Kumar on campus. In a suicide note, Rohith Vemula said, 'No one is responsible for my act of killing myself.' Nevertheless, based on complaint by Vemula's friends and some HCU students, the Gachibowli police had then booked V-C Appa Rao Podile, Dattatreya, Ramchander Rao and Susheel Kumar under provisions for abetment of suicide and SC/ST atrocities act. The matter turned political with allegations that Vemula's extreme step was a result of discrimination and targeting, at the behest of BJP leaders Dattatreya, following letters to then HRD minister Smriti Irani, seeking action against their 'anti-national acts'. The students were reportedly involved in protests on campus against the execution of 1993 Bombay blasts convict Yakub Memon. Rahul Gandhi was among several national leaders—including AAP's Arvind Kejriwal—who visited the University of Hyderabad in 2016 to express solidarity with the protesting students on campus. In March 2024, months after the Congress assumed power, the Telangana Police filed a closure report saying that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit, freeing the accused of their charges. However, following strong objections from Vemula's family and others in May 2024, when the report became public, the then Director-General of Police Ravi Gupta, ordered further investigation into the matter and announced plans to petition the court for permission to reopen the case. CM Reddy also met with Vemula's mother Radhika and others promising to reinvestigate the case. 'The matter is in the court. We are not dealing with the case, at present. I cannot comment further given the sensitivity—political or otherwise,' a senior police officer under Cyberabad Commissionerate under which HCU falls told ThePrint. While Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has affirmed his government's commitment to enact 'Rohith Vemula Act' following Rahul's letter, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy is away in Japan scouting for investments to the state. 'There has been no discussion on such an act in our government till now,' a government functionary in Telangana, who operates closely with the CM, said to ThePrint. Addanki Dayakar, a Congress MLC from the SC community, said, 'Yes, there was no such deliberation, discussion, but now with our national leader Rahul Gandhi's pledge and letter to the CM, we will move to enact such a law.' The Congress has repeatedly supported the 'Justice for Vemula' campaign. Rahul Gandhi had in November 2022 invited Radhika Vemula to join the Congress. Moreover, in a resolution passed at its 85th plenary session, the party promised to enact a law called the 'Rohith Vemula Act' to 'safeguard the right to education and dignity' for SC, ST, OBC and other minority groups. However, such an act to check caste-based discrimination in education institutions does not figure among the 76 promises, including the popular six guarantees, the Congress had in its manifesto for the November 2023 Telangana polls—which it won. What Rahul Gandhi wants Calling the discrimination faced by Dr B.R. Ambedkar 'shameful' and something that 'should not be endured by any child in India', Rahul in his letter to Revanth Reddy said that '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.' 'It is time to put a firm end to this,' it added. In his tweet, Rahul said, 'Unless every student receives respect, security and equal opportunity without discrimination, our education system cannot be fair to all. After writing a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ji, I have written a letter to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu ji and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy ji and requested to implement the 'Rohith Vemula Act'. The Congress Party is fully committed to providing equal access to education to every child and eliminating caste discrimination. हाल ही में संसद में मेरी मुलाक़ात दलित, आदिवासी और OBC समुदाय के छात्रों और शिक्षकों से हुई थी। बातचीत के दौरान उन्होंने बताया कि उन्हें किस तरह कॉलेजों और विश्वविद्यालयों में जाति के आधार पर भेदभाव झेलना पड़ता है। बाबासाहेब अंबेडकर ने दिखाया था कि शिक्षा ही वह साधन है जिससे… — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 18, 2025 Speaking to ThePrint, A.S. Ponnanna, MLA and legal adviser to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, said that they are 'going to examine caste-based discrimination in educational institutions, to include harassment and bullying.' 'We intend to get the first draft ready in the next week or 10 days. We have data and the objective is to prevent discrimination,' he added. (Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri) Also read: 'We were braver under British rule'—Rahul Gandhi says Indians today scared to face certain truths
