A year without Rohith

His suicide sparked nation-wide protests. The questions it raised have not been addressed

IT’S BEEN A year since my brother, Rohith Vemula, left us. In this year, we have gone through hardships and experienced many injustices. The fight for justice is very tough and long and we are prepared for it. Not only has my brother been denied justice, now there is an effort to prove that we are not Dalit and belong to a backward caste. But we are sure that ultimately the truth will prevail and those who were behind my brother’s death would be punished.

Since my brother’s death, my mother, Radhika Vemula, has not been keeping well. It’s only recently that she has gone back to tailoring. Despite the hardships we were facing, my mother traveled across the country to meet people who were victims of caste hatred and discrimination. We went to Una, JNU, Perumbavoor in Kerala to meet the mother of murdered law student Jisha, among other places. Through their horror stories, we relived ours. We will carry on this fight against injustice to the marginalised communities for as long as we can. We have been taking part in several protests and meetings across the country for the cause of Dalit unity.

We are yet to come to terms with the fact that Rohith is no more. He was the driving force in the family. He had lots of ideas and thoughts he used to share with us. The place we identify him with — the university of Hyderabad — is out of bounds for us since we have been barred from entering without permission. We are not allowed near Rohith’s bust that was raised by the students on the campus.

When Rohith committed suicide last January, I was working as a project fellow at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad. I stopped going to work for several days after my brother’s