Telangana: Dy CM Vikramarka says Rohith Vemula Act to be enacted soon

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka announced on Saturday that the Rohith Vemula Act would be enacted in the state as soon as possible. Earlier in the day, students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) staged a class boycott and organised a campus march to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the death of research scholar Rohith Vemula. Vemula passed away by suicide in a UoH hostel room on January 17, 2016, an event that sparked nationwide protests.

Vikramarka met with the Justice for Rohith Vemula Campaign Committee at Praja Bhavan, noting that Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi had recently communicated with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to advocate for the Act's introduction.

In a social media post in Hindi on X on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi confirmed that Congress-led governments in both Telangana and Karnataka are currently working to implement this legislation.

"Dalit youth -- raise your voices, organise yourselves, stand with each other. Demand: Implement the Rohit Vemula Act now. We need an anti-discrimination law now," he stressed.

Marking a decade of the movement, a coalition of Ambedkarite activists and intellectuals in Karnataka recently developed a formal draft for the Rohith Vemula Act. The Deputy CM assured the committee that the state government is committed to the legislation following consultations with the Chief Minister. The committee presented Vikramarka with the draft prepared in Karnataka and called for a transparent investigation into Vemula’s case to ensure long-awaited justice.

Additionally, the group sought legal relief for 50 students and two faculty members facing non-bailable charges related to the 2016 protests. They urged Telangana to mirror Karnataka’s legislative model. During the commemorations, Rohith’s mother, Radhika Vemula, along with Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and various students, paid tribute at the Rohith Stupa in Velivaada. The day concluded with a 'Mashal Juloos' (torchlight procession) as students continued their demand for justice.

"Students voluntarily boycotted classes and gathered at 'Velivaada' (North Shopcom) on the varsity campus supporting the Justice for Rohith Vemula movement commemorating 10 years of institutional murder of Vemula and ten years of justice denied," UoH Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) vice-president Dushyant said.

'Rohith Shahadath Din' is a symbol of resistance, assertion and commemoration. It brings together the voices of Dalit-Bahujan-Adivasi lives lost in educational spaces and Dalit self-respect movements, the ASA said.

It further said: "It has been a decade and yet, there has been no accountability from the University of Hyderabad, the Ministry of Education, and the Indian state for Vemula's death. We assert that until caste is annihilated within educational institutions, Vemula will continue to live as a symbol of resistance, and the struggle he represents will continue to grow."