In a recently published video by Rohit Vemyla’s friends, in reaction to the Roopanwal Commission’s report, which clearly said that there are no proofs of Rohit Vemula’s Dalit status, Vemula is seen acknowledging his Dalit identity.

The video was shot few days before he committed suicide in his hostel room at the Hyderabad Central University in January this year.

The 26-year-old Rohit Vemula, before committing suicide, had wrote the University Chancellor Appa Rao about the caste discrimination and said Dalit students should be given ‘a rope to hang themselves’.

Rohit Vemula explained in the video that research fellowship had grant him the admission into the social sciences school as a ‘general category student’ and said, “I’m a son of a daily wage laborer and my mother has raised us.”

In the video Rohit said, “Recently the university has taken the decision to suspend five Dalit students and they have expelled us from hostel premises and they have said that the notice we serve says that our presence in public places, hostel premises and administration building can be treated as criminal acts.”

After the Roopanwal Commission submitted its reports, on the direction by the HRD ministry, the opposition parties as well as Vemula’s fellow students has been accusing that the report is made to save Smriti Irani, then HRD Minister, and Bandaru Dattatreya from the issue.

Rohit’s friend said that they released the video now because they could access the video from the laptop that had been seized by the police when they were arrested in March this year after protests.

By Prajakt K.