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Activist coalition urges govt to expedite enactment of Rohith Vemula Act
Student groups and activists demand the release of the Rohith Vemula Act draft for public consultation to ensure equal educational opportunities for Dalits.
A coalition of student groups, Dalit organisations and activists on Tuesday demanded the government to release for public consultation a proposed law known as the Rohith Vemula Act and introduce it in the upcoming budget session.
The demand was made by the Campaign for Rohith Vemula Act, a collective that said it had spent two years preparing a “People’s Draft” aimed at ensuring equal educational opportunities for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students. The group said the draft had already been submitted to the state government but had not been made public despite several rounds of consultations.
Speaking at a press conference, Mavalli Shankar, state convener of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Ambedkarvada), said the government had committed to enacting the legislation but had yet to take the next steps. “The state government has already promised to implement the Rohith Act. It is regrettable that the draft has not yet been made public or brought up for discussion in the Assembly,” he said. “This Act is essential to ensure equal opportunities in higher education for Dalit and Adivasi students. We must ensure the implementation of the Rohith Act in Karnataka, a demand born from the student movement against the ‘institutional murder’ of Rohith Vemula.” Activists said the Congress party had pledged to implement the law in its 2023 election manifesto and pointed to statements by party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and chief minister Siddaramaiah, supporting the proposal.
Basavaraj Kouthal, a senior Dalit activist, said the campaign had submitted the draft to state information technology and biotechnology minister Priyank Kharge and later held discussions with state law minister HK Patil and higher education minister MC Sudhakar. He said campaign members were told the government had accepted the draft with minor changes.“Given this, why is the Congress government in Karnataka hesitating to implement the Act?” he asked.
The proposed legislation draws on consultations with students, academics, lawyers and civil society groups, according to its authors.
Ashna Singh, an assistant professor at the National Law School Bangalore who contributed research for the draft, said Karnataka had a history of legal measures intended to address caste inequality. “This land has a history of protecting the interests of Dalits, Adivasis, and Bahujans through special laws like PTCL, KTPP, the abolition of the Devadasi system, and anti-social boycott laws,” she said. “In this same spirit, the implementation of the Rohith Act is a necessity.”
Hulikunte Murthy of Tamate Media said the draft had been publicly released on January 17 at Hyderabad Central University, marking 10 years since Rohith Vemula’s death, in the presence of his mother, Radhika Vemula.
Campaign members also met Telangana’s deputy chief minister to seek similar legislation there, he added.
Student leaders said the draft reflected extensive consultation and was intended to protect vulnerable students. “In his final letter, Rohith Vemula wrote about scientific thought. Caste discrimination and violence are contrary to scientific thinking,” said Rahul, convener of the Ambedkar Students’ Association at GKVK.
