Vemula was not a Dalit, says probe panel

Raising questions on the late Rohith Vemula’s claim to being Dalit, a commission constituted by the HRD Ministry after the University of Hyderabad scholar’s death has said that the material on record did not establish it, and attributed his suicide to personal reasons.

The Justice Roopanwal Commission, in its report to the HRD Ministry, has given a clean chit to Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, sources said.

The University authorities too have been absolved of any blame for Vemula’s death as the Commission has held that they were not working under political pressure.

The Commission is learnt to have raised questions about Vemula’s caste status as a Dalit, saying there was no proof that his mother V Radhika belonged to the “Mala” community.

The commission is learnt to have said that Vemula’s mother could have given the statement that she belonged to the ’Mala’ community to support the caste certificate which was issued to Vemula.

The Commission noted that Vemula’s mother was not told the names of her biological parents by her foster family, according to the sources. It is therefore unlikely that she would have been told of their caste too, the Commission is understood to have said.

Ministry reacts

HRD Ministry officials have, however, maintained that ascertaining the caste status of Vemula was not part of the Terms of Reference of the Commission. Therefore they would only focus on those recommendations which aim at ensuring that such incidents do not happen in the future.

The Justice Roopanwal Commission, in its report to the HRD Ministry, has given a clean chit to Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, sources said

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