Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar skirted a question whether the commission probing Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula’s death had said he was not a Dalit. He said his officials were yet to brief him about the contents of the report.
Instead, he said the government would devise grievance redress mechanisms to ensure that students were not led to taking extreme steps in universities. The Ministry would ensure that such mechanisms were in place across Central universities. “I will not prejudge the case until I am briefed by officials on the committee report,” Mr. Javadekar told The Hindu here. He was answering questions after meeting 36 Vice-Chancellors from central universities at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Thursday.
The question whether Vemula was a Dalit had been raging for months. Social Justice Minister Thawarchand Gehlot had, in an interview to The Hindu , said he was not a Dalit, while SC Commission chairman P.L. Punia insisted he was.
Mr. Javadekar said the Justice Roopanwal Committee had recommended strengthening and formalising mechanisms to ensure that students did not slip into depression and resort to “extreme steps.” There should be orientation programmes in all institutions. This could be three to seven days long or even extend to a few weeks. For a support system to work, there must be a good relationship between seniors and juniors. There should be a proper mechanism for counselling. And there must be a grievance redress system as well, he said.
