[Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Condemn casteist actions of Hyderabad University authorities

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statement from People's Union for Democratic Rights ...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: PUDR Delhi <pudrdelhi at gmail.com>
Date: 19 January 2016 at 01:37
Subject: [pudr-info] Condemn casteist actions of Hyderabad University
authorities
To: activist PUDR <activist at pudr.org>
Cc: Friends of PUDR <pudr-info at pudr.org>, CDRO <cdro at pudr.org>


*People’s Union for Democratic Rights*

Delhi

18.1.16

*Press Release*

*Condemn casteist actions of Hyderabad University authorities*

PUDR strongly condemns the authorities of the Central University of
Hyderabad for their caste based victimisation of Dalit students, which, on
17th January, 2016, resulted in Rohith Vemula , a Dalit Research Scholar in
Science Technology and Society Studies in the University, committing
suicide.  Rohith was one of five Dalit research scholars, student leaders
and activists of Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), who were expelled
from the hostel, prohibited from entering the administrative building and
common spaces on the University Campus as per orders issued by the VC on 16
Dec., 2015.

Following extensive protests today by Dalit and other rights groups, in
Hyderabad and other cities, Gadchibowli police have been forced to accede
to the protestors’ demands. The Union Minister of State for Labour, Bandaru
Dattatreya has been booked under the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities Act,
and abetment to suicide, IPC . As per news reports, charges of abetment
have also been filed against the VC, University of Hyderabad, and two ABVP,
Hyderbad unit leaders, including Susheel Kumar, President, ABVP, Hyderabad
University unit.

Bandaru Dattattreya had been instrumental in the actions taken by the
University authorities. In the wake of allegations made by Susheel Kumar
against ASA activists in August 2015, he had written to the MHRD drawing
attention to growing “casteist, extremist and anti-national” activities on
Campus, and ironically accusing the University of a partisan passivity. ASA
was cited as an example of such politics, having not only protested against
capital punishment to Yakub Memon, but according to the Minister, as also
having beaten up Susheel Kumar of ABVP when he opposed them. In this
regard, it needs to be remembered that the ASA is a very active Dalit
students’ organisation with a growing reach and presence in HUC.

The VC’s orders, enforcing the boycott of the five student,s, were based on
two inquiries, one by the Proctorial Committee, and a secondSub-Committee
of the Executive Council, into a police complaint by Susheel Kumar accusing
the five students, of having beaten and abused him. The blatantly biased
nature of these two reports is evident from their contradicting the initial
findings of the Proctorial Committee whereby the accused students had been
given a clean chit. The VC’s actions were thus in absolute complicity with
Dattatreya’s.

Let us not forget that such discrimination is an everyday reality.
Statistically,
2 in 100 Dalits make it to institutes of higher education, and have to face
discrimination in various forms, at every step.  As the documentary ‘Death
of Merit’ based on data generated by dalit students across universities
revealed, between 2007 and 2012, 19 Dalit students in premier institutes of
higher education in India committed suicide as a result of traumatic
experiences of being victims of caste-based discrimination. Of these, 4
were from Hyderabad. Also as per TOI March 2013 report, there were 9
suicides from universities in  Hyderabad of which 8 belonged to SC/ST/OBC
community and 1 to minority community. In 2014, Aniket Ambhore
<http://iitsuicides.blogspot.in/2014/09/252-caste-discrimination-in-indias.html>,
fourth year electrical engineering student at Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay, committed suicide by falling from the sixth floor of a
hostel inside the campus.  Caste-based discrimination causing tremendous
stress was given as a reason. In a typical illustration of the
administration’s casteist character,  when, after Dalit research scholar
Senthil Kumar’s suicide in HCU, the committee protesting against the
University Administration  demanded an enquiry and compensation, the
Registrars response was that there was no such provision in university
guidelines. The horrific callousness of the administration was once again
visible in the forced and hurried cremation of Rohith’s body, with no
consideration for his family and friends’ sentiments. How little has
changed is apparent from the fact that in the year 2002, when 10 Dalit
scholars were rusticated by the University of Hyderabad administration for
questioning corruption, the Chief Warden responsible for the action, was
none other than the current Vice-Chancellor!

It is a telling comment on the casteist nature of our society that it has
taken the death of one student, ostracisation and harassment of four
others, lathi charges, use of water cannons, and huge police deployment
continued for criminal action to be initiated in  what  are out and out
instances of caste based victimisation of  Dalit students, and atrocities
punishable under the law, and the Constitution.

Much still remains to be done if Rohith’s death is not to go waste. In the
interests of justice, PUDR asks all democratic sections to join us  in
demanding:

1.      Immediate revocation of the VC’s orders expelling the 4 other
scholars-Dontha Prashantha, Seshu Chemudugunta, Vijay Kumar, P.Sundar
,Sunkanna Velpula

2.      The VC and Susheel Kumar be booked under the Prevention of
Atrocities Act for their malicious actions resulting in Rohith’s death.

3.      Probe by the SC- ST Commission into the workings of the two
committees.

4.      Setting up of active mechanisms in Universities for redressal of
caste-based grievances

Moushumi Basu*, *Deepika Tandon

Secretaries, PUDR    (pudr at pudr.org)

18.1.16

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