Left wing students protest march inside Lucknow University on the 10th death anniversary of Dalit resercher Rohith Vemula, in Lucknow on January 17, 2026 .
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena
Marking the 10th death anniversary of University of Hyderabad research scholar Rohith Vemula on Saturday (January 17, 2026), Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the situation faced by Dalit students on campuses had not fundamentally changed and called for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.
Vemula, a 26-year-old Dalit student, died by suicide on January 17, 2016, following alleged institutional harassment, triggering nationwide protests against caste-based discrimination in institutions of higher education.
In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi said Vemula’s life and death continued to raise a fundamental question about equality of opportunity in India.
“Today marks 10 years since Rohith Vemula’s passing. But Rohith’s question still resonates in our hearts: does everyone in this country have an equal right to dream? Rohith wanted to study, he wanted to write. He wanted to understand science, society and humanity to make this country a better place. But this system could not tolerate a Dalit’s progress,” Mr Gandhi said.
Referring to what he described as institutionalised casteism, social exclusion and everyday humiliation, Mr. Gandhi said such practices stripped Vemula of dignity and pushed him into isolation.
“And today? Has the reality for Dalit youth changed? The same contempt on campus, the same isolation in hostels, the same feeling of inferiority in classrooms, the same violence — and sometimes, the same death. Because caste is still the biggest admission form in this country,” he added.
That was why the Rohit Vemula Act was not just a slogan but a necessity, the Congress leader asserted. He called upon Dalit students to organise and demand the immediate implementation of the proposed legislation.
“So that caste-based discrimination in educational institutions becomes a crime, strict action is taken against the perpetrators, and the freedom to break, silence and exclude any student on the basis of their caste is ended,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said Congress governments in Karnataka and Telangana were in the process of implementing the law at the State level.
Calling for a more just and humane society, he said India must ensure that no Dalit student is forced to sacrifice their life for the right to dream, describing the fight against caste discrimination in higher education as a collective responsibility.
Published – January 17, 2026 10:42 pm IST
