A diary of Rohith Vemula, the research scholar of University of Hyderabad whose suicide had caused protests, has surfaced just four days after his first death anniversary on January 17.
Rohith’s notings and scribblings in the diary pertain to his final years of stay at the varsity including academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Gummadi Prabhakar, a research scholar, discovered the diary on Saturday as he was cleaning his room at New Research Scholars Hostel on UoH campus. Mr. Prabhakar was a close friend of Rohith Vemula.
In the pocket-size notebook which he was using as a diary, Rohith had included exultations to himself. “Never gossip. Never judge. Never talk negative. Never complain. Never make excuses. Never dogmatise,” read a line from the diary.
In another section, he had made a reference to Seshaiah Chemudagunta, who was one among the four Dalit students who were expelled from hostel along with Rohith Vemula on January 3, 2016.
The diary makes a note of “Seshu Anna’s issue”, which pertains to helping him with sustenance after he failed to secure a PhD admission in UoH soon after he finished his M.Phil.
‘An unforgettable asset’
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Prabhakar said: “He had left the book in my room as he used to spend a lot of time there. The notings are an unforgettable asset to his friends and supporters”.
In the diary, Rohith had noted down several events on UoH campus which had caught his attention, especially because during the year 2014-15 he was an Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) leader on a campus where the same organisation held the reins of the Students Union.
In some of the notings, Rohith Vemula mentions student grievances, including lack of a cycle stand at Science Complex and water scarcity in hostels.
The ASA to which Vemula belonged is expected to publish the full contents of the diary in the coming weeks.
