Rohith Vemula: A Mind Torn Apart

The many lives of Rohith Vemula.

- V Shoba

Growing up in an SC colony in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Raja Chaitanya Kumar Vemula would often interrupt his mother at her tailoring machine and demand to know why he had to go to a government school when his elder brother Rohith, or Babji as he was addressed at home, had the privilege of attending an Englishmedium private institution. “Because there are more holidays in government schools,” Radhika would say, to perk him up. He knew the real reason, of course.

Rohith was the sort of boy who seemed destined for greatness—made of the stardust of tomorrow—while he and his sister were “average kids”. The family, dependant solely on Radhika’s daily wages of about Rs 150, could barely afford a good education for one child. “On most days, the headmaster fed him. Our neighbours donated money. We managed to keep him in school, sacrificing everything else,” Raja says. “Mother and I dreamed that he would grow up to be an IAS officer, earning the respect of the world, surrounded by policemen hanging on to his every word.” On 18 January, when a posse of police cars escorted his brother’s body to a private funeral at the Amberpet crematorium in Hyderabad, Raja wept uncontrollably. His first thought was that his dream had come true—and how sorry he was.