Rohit Vemula's Death ... Reveals the Murky Truth Of Our System

Every day we are bombarded with all types of news but only few leave a long lasting impact, incidents that completely stir your soul and compel you to come out of your confine and express your thoughts and emotions.

Rohit vemula’s suicide is one such case that has totally moved me, compelled me to express my anger, grief and utter disappointment. His death is a reminder that we have moved far away from humanity, sanity, and empathy.

In solidarity with your life and leadership(pic courtsey google)

After reading about Vemula’s case I firmly believe that undoubtedly he was a brave soul who envisioned fighting against the odds. Actively involved in student politics, he boldly stood for social causes and expressed his dissent against the existing anomalies. This speaks a lot about his character. He was no coward. He had been fighting his battle for long and expressed his discontent over bothering issues to the respective authorities. But no one cared about his unrest because he was ‘insignificant’. His appeals and anguish went unheard.

Instead of addressing the issue, the responsible heads preferred to crush down the dissenting voices in the most unlikely manner, suspension, expulsion and boycott were the stern steps taken again Vemula and his friends in the name of disciplinary action. The unwanted action laid the foundation for a bright mind to succumb to depression and then to suicide.

Vemula's Mistake that cost him his life

As a member of Ambedkar Students Association(ASA), Vemula and  his other friends protested against the hanging of Yakub Menon (1993 Mumbai bomb blasts convict)...This expression of dissent did not go well with the ABVP(Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad)members..the most elite and supreme outfit. 

The screening of 'Muzaffarnagar Baki Hai', a documentary was on Muzaffranagar riot was stalled by the self-authorized body ABVP, which ASA protested.

These were the major two incidents that brought Vemula and his friends at loggerheads with ABVP members. Their protests and dissents invited the wrath of the supreme powers backing ABVP.

Daring to express concern over issues that clashed with the ideologies of the most significant and powerful people(the most elite and deserving humans)was the mistake Vemula made. He dared to call a spade a spade and took cudgel against ‘What he found was unfair’.

What he did not know was that his egalitarian thoughts and courage would fall short in front of the apathetic and insensitive system controlled by power greedy people and opportunists. These selfish people blinded by the lust of power cannot stand any objection to their actions and ideologies. They are the Messiahs with the power to doom the fates of others who are less equal to them.

Protests, debates and dissents are part of any healthy democratic set up. But unfortunately in this case Vemula had to pay a heavy price for his campus activism.

Rohit vemula was a second-year research scholar of Hyderabad University. The problem began last August,2015 when Rohit Vemula along with five other Dalit students was suspended on alleged altercation with one of the members of BJP’s student wing ABVP. The case has not yet been proved by the final committee set up by the University.

The Union Labour Minister, Mr. Dattatreya was all geared up, showing unwanted personal interest in this case. He intimated the Human Resource Development Minister MS Smriti Irani about the incident asking for immediate action against the ‘anti-nationals’. And then the muscle power showed its magic. The Dalit boys were punished for being bold enough to hold difference of opinion.

Vemula and his friends were suspended and expelled.For the past few days Vemula and his friends were on hunger strike. They were barred from entering hostel, administration building and other common places in groups. They were spending nights in a makeshift tent in the campus.

Vemula's Last Letter conveys it all

Vemula’s suicide letter is heart-wrenching. Disgust, disappointment and sense of emptiness are very much evident from his writing to any sane man. Every sentence of his letter clearly reveals how he failed to make his point. He failed to understand the people and world.

His words “Maybe I was wrong in understanding world. In understanding love, pain, life and death. There was no urgency. But I was always rushing, desperate to start a life. All, the while, some people for them life itself is a ‘curse’. My birth is my fatal accident. I can never recover from my childhood of loneliness”. These are some of his words before ending his life. The message is quite lucid  and simple to all those who are willing to acknowledge the murky situation in our country.

The 26-year boy who wished to become a science writer and wanted to write about nature and stars left for another world because today according to him “People have long since divorced from nature. The value of man has been reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility. To a vote. To a number. To a thing. Never was a man treated as a mind. As a glorious thing made up of stardust.In every field in studies, in streets, in politics and in dying and in living".

These are cogent and meaningful words conveying very strong message, revealing the harsh truths about our system. A country's system is a complete failure where isonomy is violated and discrimination becomes a part of life.

Truly one can feel the pain and desperation that he must have gone through before finally taking this extreme step.

I feel really disappointed at present because its hard to believe that Vemula, a fighter chose to end his struggle by finishing his life. 

How surmountable was his opponent? How difficult was his struggle? How deep was his frustration? How and why his fighting spirit was overshadowed by a grim intention?

These questions bother me. I shudder to even think about how much trauma and pain he would have gone through that led him to take the most drastic step.

Who is responsible for this? Well, now long debates and discussions can go on about this… but as a common man in right mind I too can sense the grave evils plaguing our system and hence can totally relate to the despair and frustration that Vemula experienced.

The situation looks despicable. It is a distressful incident that proves that educational institutes that are supposed to be solely promoting knowledge and polishing the young minds for brighter future are now corrupted and disgraced by dirty show of power play.

The whole system under influence of murky politics not only fails to bring about the desired and much-needed change but also covertly supports the social evils and anti national elements.

Unnecessary meddling of political parties with student’s politics needs to stop. Acknowledging issues and dealing with students dissents sensibly without resorting to any extreme measure should be the responsibility of the respective authority.

If only the matter was dealt with required discernment and sentitivity, Vemula would have lived longer to fulfill his dream.