On Rahul nudge, K'taka to enact Vemula Act to tackle campus caste bias

Bengaluru: Hours after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi urged the Karnataka govt to enact a law named after Rohith Vemula to eliminate caste-based discrimination in higher education, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah Friday said the state would bring in the Vemula Act "at the earliest".

Responding to the letter, Siddaramaiah said the govt stands committed to ensuring no student is subjected to caste, class, or religious discrimination.

"I thank Rahul Gandhi for his heartfelt letter and unwavering commitment to social justice. Our govt stands firm in its resolve to enact the Rohith Vemula Act …. at the earliest to honour the dreams of Rohith, Payal, Darshan, and countless others who deserved dignity, not exclusion," the CM posted on X.

"This will be a step towards realising Dr BR Ambedkar's vision of an equal, compassionate India," he added.

Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar at University of Hyderabad, died by suicide on Jan 17, 2016, allegedly following disciplinary action by the university. His death sparked nationwide protests and became a flashpoint in the debate on caste discrimination on Indian campuses.

Earlier in the day, Rahul took to X to announce he had written to the Karnataka CM, seeking swift enactment of the law. "Recently, I met students and teachers from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities in Parliament. During the conversation, they told me how they face caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities. Babasaheb Ambedkar demonstrated that education is the primary means by which even the most deprived can become empowered and break the caste system. But it is very unfortunate that even after decades, lakhs of students are facing caste discrimination in our education system. This discrimination has taken the lives of promising students like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki," he wrote.

"Such horrific incidents cannot be tolerated at any cost. Now is the time to put a complete stop to this injustice. I have written a letter to Siddaramaiah requesting him to implement the Rohith Vemula Act in Karnataka. No child of India should have to face the casteism that Babasaheb Ambedkar, Rohith Vemula and crores of people have faced," the MP added.

In his letter dated April 16, the MP included an anecdote from Ambedkar's writings. "Here he describes an incident during a long bullock cart journey. ‘There was plenty of food with us. There was hunger burning within us; with all this, we were to sleep without food; that was because we could get no water, and we could get no water because we were untouchables'."

Calling the present situation "a shame", Gandhi added: "The murder of bright young people like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki is simply not acceptable. It is time to put an end to this firmly."