Mumbai city remembers Rohit Vemula on death anniversary

Demonstrators hold up candles and Rohit Vemulau00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s photo at Chaityabhoomi on Thursday. Pic/Ashish Raje

A candlelight demonstration was held at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar on Thursday night where those gathered remembered Rohit Vemula, a student of Hyderabad Central University (HCU) who committed suicide in January 17, 2016.

Around 100-120 youngsters participated in the event held on an unusually cold and windy night by the sea.

While the student community across the nation has gotten together with much unity against the several decisions taken by the current central government, demonstrators said it was important to note that Rohith Vemula's death in 2016 kickstarted the student movement four years ago.

As it is his death anniversary on Friday, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) for social justice which has been holding several protests in Mumbai held the candlelight demonstration in Dadar until midnight on Thursday.

Fr Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of the St Xavier's College, was also present at the event. Speaking to the media, Fr Frazer said, "I am here because I am very impressed by the student community which has raised its voice. They are just safeguarding their future. I have been in touch with students all my life and so have come here to support them."

Commenting on the importance of Thursday's event, he said, "The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is not only against one community but against all minorities. For the past several years, in India there have been a number of communities that have been on the backfoot, including Dalits. This is raising our voices against it. The CAA might have been formulated with good intentions, but it refers to Partition which all of us have left far behind to move ahead from.

All communities in India have done much to live peacefully with each other and this law cannot take India back to Partition. The CAA is along the lines of a divisive agenda and is a fatal distraction by the government from the vital issues such as enviornment, unemployment, economy, reduced funding for education sector."

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