‘Rohith got threats for following Ambedkar, university paid no heed’

Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika Vemula said on Sunday that her son used to tell her and his brother Raja about the threats he received for following Baba Bhimsaheb Ambedkar and spreading his knowledge and his varsity had paid no attention to him.

Rohith’s mother said that the revenue authorities had issued a certificate which clearly states that her son belonged to the Mala community, which is recognised as a Scheduled Caste community under the Indian Constitution.

“The police is investigating my son’s caste, but they have no authority to do so. Only the revenue authority can probe someone’s caste,” she said.

Radhika Vemula, who is camping in Delhi to seek justice for her son, said Rohith often used to discuss with his friends about atrocities being committed on minorities and Dalit students.

She said her son was never ever a religious extremist and had even adopted Buddhism later. “Rohith never believed in religious extremism in whichever format it is. He was following Dr Ambedkar on a very rational basis. In fact, he shared with his brother that he had adopted and was following Buddhism.”

Rohith’s close friend Prashant Dontha, who was expelled from the Hyderabad varsity along with him, said he also used to admire astronomer Carl Sagan and economist Karl Marx. “Rohith used to read a lot of different texts . He also used to read Kalekuri Prasad and even many Telugu novelists like Shree Shree.”

As a message to the Dalit community, Rohith’s mother said this generation of Dalits, who are getting education, should refrain from going abroad but instead stay back in India and help students like her son.