Dalit scholar's suicide: JAC writes to acting VC, puts forward demands

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) at the University of Hyderabad on Sunday wrote to acting Vice-Chancellor M. Perisamy and put forward its demands.

The committee has demanded sacking of Appa Rao Podile from the post of the Vice-Chancellor and also demanded that interim Vice-Chancellor Vipin Srivastava should not come back from "leave" as the Vice-Chancellor and he must not be present in the Executive Council while their demands are being looked into.

It also demanded the employment of Rohith's family member, adding that Rohith's pending scholarship amount must be disbursed immediately and handed over to his family.

The committee also asked the acting Vice-Chancellor to institute Rohith Memorial Lecture in the university, adding that the university must give a public apology to the five Dalit research scholars for the blatant casteist discrimination, humiliation and agony inflicted on them that eventually led to the death of Rohith.

It further asked M. Perisamy to implement Thorat Committee recommendations to make higher education campus discrimination free and socially inclusive, adding that the Executive Council must appeal to the Government of India to introduce and implement Rohith Act that provides legislative protection to the students from marginalised communities in higher education.

The Joint Action Committee demanded to reformulate the composition of Proctorial Board by removing Alok Pandey and including representatives from students and SC/ST faculty members.

Its demand also include that the Executive Council must not accept the resignation letters submitted by SC/ST faculty members and officers and should appeal to them to take up their earlier responsibilities.

Earlier today, Periasamy said the students who are agitating in the wake of suicide by Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula had agreed to allow the classes and administrative activities to resume normally from Monday.

The students have been agitating after Rohith, a PhD student at the university, committed suicide by hanging himself on January 17.

Rohith and five other students were suspended by the university in connection with an alleged attack on an ABVP leader.