Author: Niticentral Staff
Publication: Niticentral.com
Date: January 18, 2016
URL:   http://www.niticentral.com/2016/01/18/hyderabad-university-suicide-detailed-report-339960.html

We feel greatly saddened to briefly report the unfortunate suicide committed by one of our research students Mr. Rohit Vemula, working for Ph.D. in Centre for Knowledge and Innovation Studies, under School of Social Sciences.  Mr. Vemula is one of the five boys who were asked to vacate the hostel on account an incident that occurred during intervening night of 3rd and 4th August.  Incidentally all five of them are Dalit students.  It all happened when there was an alleged attack by a group of students in one of the hostels, on one student.

Mr. Susheel, the then President of ABVP Unit in the campus was allegedly attacked a group of Students belonging to Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) during that intervening night.  The Proctorial Board of the University has enquired into the matter and submitted a final report after talking to the victim.  When the Executive council (EC) approved the punishment to expel five students (including Mr. Rohit Vemula who committed suicide), ASA students did not allow the University administration to function for two days forcing the then in charge Vice Chancellor Prof. R.P. Sharma to withdraw the order with a condition that the matter will be looked into afresh.

A committee was constituted by Prof. Sharma but the committee replied back, after Appa Rao took charge at the end of September, indicating that the recommendations of the statutory bodies like proctorial board and executive council cannot be reviewed by such committee.

Meanwhile Susheel  (victim)’s mother filed a case in the High Court and the court was repeatedly asking the University legal counsel to inform the action taken on recommendations of the proctorial board.  University has delayed submitting such action taken report with the hope that the court will decide things on its own.  However, in November middle the court ordered the University legal counsel to submit the ATR with a few days deadline. Otherwise, the judge was taking the matter seriously.  We then had a meeting of the Deans and administrative officers of the University in which at least three Dalit faculty were also part as Controller of Examinations, Chief Warden and Dean of Students Welfare.  It was decided that in the given circumstances, that an EC sub-committee headed by Senior most professor in EC as Chairperson will examine the matter and submit recommendations.  Since none of the EC members were from Dalit community, we have requested Dean of Students’ Welfare (Prof. P. Prakash Babu) a senior Dalit faculty member to be part of the committee to join the EC subcommittee since he is also a statutory officer of the University. We could give them very short time because the court deadline was so close.

The EC sub-committee, after long deliberations and after consulting the University security and local police officers, upheld the recommendations of the proctorial board and recommended to the EC that the said five students be awarded punishment as recommended earlier.  In the full EC meeting that was held one day before the deadline given by the court, I proposed to the EC to be a bit lenient because the recommended punishment will deprive the students of the scholarships to continue Ph.D. after the one semester expulsion recommended by the proctorial board.  As Chairman of EC, the VC had taken DSW into confidence, who expressed satisfaction over the proposal.  The full EC agreed to VC’s proposal to be lenient but as a regular practice followed in the University for several years, it was indicated that these students will be permitted in the respective Department, Library and Academic meetings and not in the hostel, administration and other public places in the campus. The decision of the EC was submitted in writing to the high court by the University legal counsel.  It was communicated to the students after the said EC minutes were approved by the members.  First the minutes were posted on the University web and later formal orders were issued to the students.

Chief Warden (also a dalit faculty) communicated the same to the students around 20th December and asked the students to vacate the hostel.   He has double locked the room where required and submitted a report to the University.  The DSW was in touch with the students.  On behalf of the students, there were a group of students who met VC and demanded revocation of hostel suspension and started branding as “social boycott” order.  They were linking this punishment to the letter from Honourable Minister Sri Bandaru Dattatreya (enquiring about the August 3/4 night incident) forwarded by MHRD. It was adequately explained to them that the letter received from MHRD or minister’s letter have no influence whatsoever in the EC decision.  But, the students’ groups mostly belonging to dalit groups and SFI were bent upon branding it as involvement of BJP government, and RSS role in this matter.

The five students expelled from the hostel moved high court seeking stay on the hostel suspension.  High court judge did not agree to stay the punishment immediately but asked their advocate to club this petition with the one which is already in front of the court on the same matter and posted it for January 19, 2016.  We understood the matter, therefore, as subjudice.  Further, the earlier decision of EC in August 2015, was reviewed by the EC on an appeal given by the students.  Hence, the decision of the EC as appellate authority can only be reviewed by the court was our opinion and maintained the same in our discussions with the students.

All the five students suspended from hostel are eligible for fellowships.  Two of them get regular JRF with HRA eligibility and the other three were getting non-NET fellowship.  In fact one Mr. Sunkanna in these five students has even submitted thesis after August 2015.  Although they were research students, they waited for the reopening of the University until Jan 4 2016 for a protest.  “Sleep in open” was the protest chosen by them from 3rd Jan night.  The students erected a small tent with all social leaders’ pictures on flexes and started sleeping at shopping complex in the University.  Three of them were sleeping at shopping complex while one of them never joined for health reasons.  Sunkanna, the one who submitted thesis, was also not part of the sleeping group.

DSW was regularly discussing with these students and counselling them to have patience to know the court decision in this regard.  Meanwhile, a student JAC including students union represented by SFI, with support of some faculty started mounting pressure on the University.  On 13th January, when the regular VC was away, they closed down the administration building and did not allow the employees to enter.  They demanded that the regular VC should come, revoke suspension and then only they will agree.  I had advanced my return journey and reached campus on 13th night (cancelling appointments in Delhi) and called the meeting of the local EC members, senior Deans and DSW on the course of action to be taken.  It was decided that there will be an oral appeal, followed by written appeal to the students to allow the administration to function.  If the students do not listen, we have decided to take help from police. It may be noted that the class work was not affected on 13th and 14th January.

On 14th morning, by 12.20 or so the allowed the employees to get in, when we issued written appeal and sent our security officer to local police station seeking formal help.  We then agree that the VC would talk to the students JAC members along with the President of Students’ union.  We had 2 hours discussion and explained our position and repeatedly told to them not to accuse the Government because there was no role of MHRD, HRM or even Sri Dattatreya.  It was appealed to the JAC members that they should wait for the court decision.  The expelled students were not part of this JAC.  The expelled students continued to sleep in the tent.  Today (Sunday morning) we realized that the JAC erected a tent and was planning to announce some form of hunger strike.  VC, Registrar and DSW and other senior faculty were getting ready to face the situation as required.

All of a sudden at 7.20 pm this sad news broke and the campus is now disturbed.  The suicide note has no mention about this hostel expulsion incident or any other concrete point(s).  It was more philosophical. University PRO was asked to send copy of the suicide note as attachment. The Deputy Commissioner of Police of our area suggested that DSW and VC should move out with family because the students may resort to some violence.  This is in brief about the incident.

In fact the students have attacked Security Officer, Deputy Registrar (Security) and DSW when they tried to reach out to the dead body in the hostel.  Then all three have moved to VC lodge for next steps.  We were together with Registrar and other senior faculty when DCP called us to move out of campus.  Registrar is continuing in campus to take appropriate measures. VC and DSW are in touch with the DCP.  12 in the midnight of 16th January 2016.
 
Note left behind by the late Rohit Chakravarthy Vemula, Ph.D. in Science & Technology

Good morning.

I would not be around when you read this letter.  Don’t get angry on me.  I know some of you truly cared for me, loved and treated me very well.  I have no complaints on anyone.  It was always with myself I had problems.  I feel a growing gap between my soul and body.  And I have become a monster.  I always wanted to be a writer.  A writer of science like Carl Sagan.  At last, this is the only letter I am getting to write.

I loved science, stars, nature.  But then I loved people without knowing that people have long since divorced from nature.  Our feelings are second-handed.  Our love is constructed.  Our beliefs colored.  Our originality valid through artificial art.  It has become truly difficult to love without getting hurt.  The value of a man was 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 star dust.  In every field.  In studies.  In streets.  In politics.  And in dying and living.

I am writing this kind of letter for the first time.  My first time of a final letter.  Forgive me if I fail to make a sense.

May be I am wrong.  All the while.  In understanding world.  In understanding love, pain, life, death.  There was no urgency.  But I always was 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 childhood loneliness.  The unappreciated child from my past.

(The deceased wrote a few lines, which he struck off and are difficult to decipher.  At the end of the same para, he writes as follows:  “I myself strike these words off’.  V.R. – signed)

I am not hurt at this moment.  I am not sad.  I am just empty.  Unconcerned about myself.  That’s pathetic.  And that’s why I am doing this.

People may dub me as a coward.  And selfish or stupid.  Once I am gone, I am not bothered about what I am called.  I don’t believe in after-death stories, ghosts or spirits.  If there is anything at all I believe, I believe that I can travel to the stars.  And know about the other worlds.

If you, who is reading this letter can do anything for me, I have to get 7 months of my fellowship.  One lakh and seventy five thousand rupees.  Please see to it that my family is paid that.  I have to give some 40 thousand to Ramji.  He never asked them back.  But please pay that to him from that.

Let my funeral be silent and smooth.  Behave like I just appeared and gone.  Do not shed tears for me.  Know that I am happy dead than being alive.

“From shadows to the stars”.  Bye

V.R. Ch…(signature)

17/01/2016

I forgot to write the formalities.  No one is responsible for my this act of killing myself.

No one instigated me either by their acts or by their words to this act.

This is my decision and I am the only one responsible for this.

Do not trouble my friends and enemies on this after I am gone.

Sincerely,

V.R. Ch…(signature)

17/01/206

Uma anna, sorry for using your room for this thing.

To ASA family, sorry for disappointing all of you.  You loved me very much.  There are some bad water in us (struck off this italicized line, which is otherwise clearly visible).  I wish all the very best for the future.

For one last time,