JPC delegation to visit Hyderabad university

“The members of the committee”, according to him, “will interact with Dalit students and members of the faculty to ascertain various manifestations of caste-based discrimination.”

“We would not only prepare a report and submit it to both Houses thereafter, but also meet PM Narendra Modi to demand that he address the concerns of Dalit students,” added Kulaste.

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The committee comprises mainly representatives of weaker sections. It was scheduled to discuss certain matters pertaining to the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, but two Rajya Sabha members — D Raja of the CPI (Tamil Nadu) and Jesudasu Seelam of the Congress (Andhra Pradesh) — brought up Rohit Vemula’s suicide and demanded that the committee thoroughly examine the discrimination against Dalit students. As the two members received support cutting across party lines, Kulaste proposed a committee tour of the educational institutions from where reports of caste-discrimination had come. The members agreed, saying it was better to speak with affected people instead of relying on secondary sources of information.

Initially, the members deliberated on Rohith’s suicide and the expulsion of five Dalit scholars — all members of Ambedkar Students Association — from the university hostel in December 2015 after a clash with members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

IIT-Chennai found a mention when a member referred to a ban on Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle on the basis of an anonymous complaint to the HRD Ministry last year. The ban order was later revoked following protests. The move, though, proved counter-productive as Dalit students at several institutions floated similar outfits.