IndiaTomorrow.net,
Hyderabad, April 14: Today is 125th birth anniversary of modern India’s tallest dalit icon – Dr B R Ambedkar. The architect of free India’s constitution had converted to Buddhism just two months before his death in 1956. On his birthday today, a family, unknown till 17th January this year, is going to follow his path of conversion.
Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar, committed suicide at Hyderabad University in mid-January after months of social and administrative trial of him and four other Dalit students. Around three months after his death, some accused in the FIR lodged by his family have not been arrested and the students have continued their protest with the demand.
His mother Radhika Vemula and brother Naga Chaitanya Vemula are going to convert to Buddhism in Mumbai on Thursday. The function will be attended by Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar.
Rohith’s last rites were also performed according to Buddhist traditions.
“My brother Rohith was a Buddhist at heart, though he did not convert. He took his own life after he was discriminated against because he was a Dalit. We performed his last rites according to Buddhist traditions, honouring his love for Buddhism a lot,” Naga Vemula was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“Rohith had written a letter to the (Hyderabad University) vice-chancellor about how Dalits are discriminated against on campus. My mother feels we should honour him by embracing Buddhism. We are against the caste system in Hinduism and have, therefore, decided to convert to Buddhism,” he further said.
Rohith’s death had sparked a nationwide protest and the issue had stormed the Parliament also. He and his friends were suspended from hostel for allegedly beating a leader of Hindu right students group ABVP. Media reports had said that BJP leader and Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya had more than once approached Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani to press Hyderabad University Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao to take action against Rohith and his four friends. Dattatreya and Rao are among the five accused (in Rohith suicide case) whose arrest has been demanded by the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice at Hyderabad University.
