12 Facts About Rohith Vemula

Rohith Chakravarthi Vemula was an Indian PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad.

Rohith Vemula's death sparked protests and outrage across India and gained widespread media attention as a case of state sponsored discrimination against Dalits in Indian universities.

Further, the District Level Scrutiny Committee in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, which was reviewing the Dalit status of Rohith Vemula, submitted its final report to the government stating that neither Rohith nor his mother Radhika were Dalits.

Rohith Vemula's father is from the Vaddera caste, classified as an Other Backward Class in India's system of Reservations, and his mother is said to be from Mala community by birth, which is a Scheduled Caste, but was adopted by a Vaddera family.

Meanwhile, his family struggled to help him, and Rohith Vemula had to borrow money from a friend.

Rohith Vemula had a Scheduled Caste certificate for Hyderabad University admission.

The District Level Scrutiny Committee in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, which was reviewing the Dalit status of Rohith Vemula, submitted its final report to the government stating that neither Rohith nor his mother Radhika were Dalits.

However, according to the documentary film Rohith Vemula made by Srikanth Chintala, Radhika Vemula's foster mother clearly stated that Radhika Vemula was adopted by her and she belonged to a Dalit community.

Rohith Vemula believed in the compassion and humanity of Buddhism.

Rohith Vemula's suicide sparked protests and outrage from across India and gained widespread media attention as an alleged case of discrimination against Dalits and low status castes in India, in which elite educational institutions have been purportedly seen as hotbeds of caste-based discrimination against students belonging to lower caste.

Rohith's mother, Radhika Vemula fought to bring justice to the death of her son.

Rohith Vemula started 'Mothers for nation yatra' to protest her son's death.