Hyderabad university students reject interim VC

Hyderabad: Students further intensified their week long stir at the Central University of Hyderabad over the suicide of a Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula with a massive “Chalo UoH” rally on Monday.

The protest took a national character with students’ representatives and prominent intellectuals from across the country converging on the UOH campus to express their solidarity with demands for justice for Rohith Vemula, who hanged himself at the campus on January 17.

A day after vice-chancellor P. Appa Rao went on an indefinite leave, and senior professor Vipin Srivastava took over his responsibilities, the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, spearheading the agitation, refused to relent.

JAC leaders announced they will continue their protest until all their demands, including, the removal of Appa Rao and legal action against those responsible for Rohith’s suicide, were met.

They demand action against the union minister of state for employment, Bandaru Dattatreya, alleging he was behind the suspension of five Dalit research scholars, including Rohith, from the University in December.

Meanwhile, the number of Dalit faculty members who resigned from their administrative posts on Monday rose to 26, after 13 more sent their resignations, demanding action against Appa Rao.

They also refused to accept his replacement, Srivastava. Those who resigned include Prof Prakash Babu, Dean of Students Welfare.

The indefinite hunger strike by a fresh group of seven students entered its second day on Monday. The group sat on strike after police shifted the first batch of seven students to a hospital on Saturday night in view of deteriorating health conditions.

Apart from the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, students from the central universities of Kerala, Gujrat and other states have also reached Hyderabad to participate in the “Chalo UoH” rally.

Similarly, student groups have also gone on relay hunger strikes in Bengaluru and Mysore to express solidarity with the students of UoH.

The UoH students body JAC rejected the move of sending P. Appa Rao on indefinite leave and his replacement Srivastav. In a statement, the JAC said Srivastav was not only the head of the sub-committee of the Executive Council, which decided to suspend the five Dalit students, but he was also blamed in the past for suicide of another Dalit student.

In 2008, a PhD physics student from Tamil Nadu, Senthil Kumar, committed suicide when Vipin Srivastav was the dean of the department.

P. Appa Rao, who was in the eye of the storm for his role in the suspension of the five Dalit students, and was facing the ire of the students, said that he decided to go on leave to help find a solution through talks.

“After seeking suggestions from the staff, I decided to go on indefinite leave,” he said.

Srivastav announced that he will meet the students for talks to find a solution to the problem. But the protesting students have refused to meet him. JAC said that it will not agree for any talks with the administration until the resignation or removal of Appa Rao.

They are also demanding prosecution of the BJP leaders, Bandaru Dattatreya and N Ramchandra Rao, MLC under the SC ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and the ABVP leader Susheel Kumar, holding them responsible for the Rohith’s suicide. JAC’s other demands include payment of ex gratia of Rs5 million (Dh271,113) to Rohith’s family. They have rejected the ex gratia of Rs800,000 announced by the university as insufficient.