Students’ organisations collaborate to produce Rohith Vemula biography to fight discrimination, and injustice across Indian campuses; counter ABVP ‘propaganda’ by releasing their own material
“We want to keep Rohith alive through this book. We are trying to tell the world who Rohith Vemula really was, what he stood for and how RSS turned the whole JNU issue around. It will reflect how even today there are people facing discrimination and injustice on campuses and there is an urgent need to address this problem rather than remaining silent,” said Abhilasha Sandhya, joint general secretary of the All India Students Association (AISA).
Members from various students’ organisations display a copy each of ‘JNU Speaks’. Pic/Prabhanjan Dhanu
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The students’ organisation, spread across 18 states, along with another like-minded group called Revolutionary Youth Association is set to launch a book on Rohith Vemula in August. Written by presidents, vice presidents of students’ unions, professors and senior leaders like Kavita Krishnan, the book,’ will trace Rohith’s life from start to end, cover issues like discrimination on campuses, lack of a structured and systematised committee for students, and the need to make policy-level changes in education. The book will be a part of the campaign initiated by students across India since March 23, asking youth to wake up and take charge of the situation.
Rohith Vemula
“These days people think that because they are not practicing caste hierarchy, there isn’t any. But most of them forget that it is a grim reality,” said Sunny Kumar from the Delhi State Committee of AISA.
AISA members believe that the need of the hour is to pen down the truth, facts and figures.
“Governments have it their way with the history. Chapters are deleted, lectures are cancelled, lecturers are fired. The list goes on. History is often presented in the way the powerful deem fit. So it is necessary that we ink everything,” said Sandhya, who claims to have received threats from VHP and Bajrang Dal in the past.
The counterattack
Besides penning Vemula’s biography, the organisations collectively released ‘JNU Speaks’ on June 25. The book was released to counter ABVP’s so-called propaganda ‘JNU ka Sach’.
“After the lies that ABVP has spread, we have tried to portray the facts. Our book talks about how everyone raising their voice against RSS ideology is termed an anti-national. How the right-wingers tried to shutdown JNU in a planned manner by terming it as a hub for anti-national activities. All we have done is highlight the truth,” said Kumar.
Aditi Pandey, a member of Jan Sanskriti Manch, said, “Through the JNU issue, people have understood that it’s not just an attack on Rohith but an attack on an individual’s rights.”
Rohith Act
The campaign also aims at strengthening the idea of framing and implementing the Rohith Act across campuses in India. “The act will ensure that there is an official student body to curb time-and-again occurrence of atrocities like the one against Rohith. That there is space for students to have dialogues without being afraid of the system failing them as citizens. We don’t expect anything from this government. We are used to being assaulted and lathicharged by the authorities. So one thing is certain, we won’t give up,” said Sandhya.
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