Five months after Rohith’s suicide, his mother opens up about the incident

Months before 26-year-old research scholar Rohith Vemula committed suicide, he was angry about his suspension from the hostel on University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus. While this puzzled his mother Radhika, she never realised the gravity of the situation in the days leading up to his suicide.

“I had asked him what was happening on the campus, but could not understand or know clearly what was happening because I never studied in a university. Rohith was very courageous, and I cannot accept that he was a weak person,” said Radhika Vemula, who came to the campus on Friday to support professors K.Y. Ratnam and Tathagata Sengupta, who were served pre-dated suspension orders by the administration.

Recalling the incidents that led to Rohith’s suicide, Ms. Vemula said that her son was a bright student since he was in school, which is why she had asked him to write the civil services exam at least once. “His dream was to get a government job and ensure that he buys a house for us. I asked him to appear for the Civils just once as I was confident that he would have cracked it,” she added, wiping away tears.

Ms. Vemula also felt if Rohith had a mobile phone, she could have prevented him from ending his life.

The research scholar was not using his cell phone for three months before his suicide, as he was preparing for the civil services examination.

“He would have been alive today if he had his cell phone,” said his mother, who is now staying at Rohith’s best friend, Sheikh Riyaz’s home.

“Rohith’s brother Raja is currently unemployed as his contract with NGRI here is over. Currently, they are surviving on the fellowship money which was released two months ago,” said Riyaz.

He added that the last time Rohith’s mother spoke with him before he committed suicide was January 13, four days before he took his life in a hostel room in UoH.