Poorva Chavan
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In a tragic incident a 25-year-old Rohit Vemula, a student at the University at Hyderabad has committed suicide by hanging himself at a hostel. In August last year, Rohit had got involved in a tiff between two student groups, following which he and four others were expelled from the University. According to reports, Rohit and four other dalit students were accused by a student from the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad of assault while protesting against the disruption of the screening of Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai in Delhi University. Rohit was a research scholar pursuing his Ph.D. in Science Technology and Society Behaviour. After the alleged tiff, the University administration had ordered a probe and the final decision by the board led to his expulsion. Following which, the administration had barred the scholars' from entering the administrative building, hostels, libraries, mess and other common areas which led to a massive protest by students. The students had then formed a Joint Action Committee for Social Justice. For the past two weeks, Rohit along with the other expelled students were sleeping out in the open demanding reinstatement. After the JAC went on an indefinite strike on Sunday, Rohit went into the NRS hostel, locked himself up in a room and committed suicide, according to reports. Rohit was an active member in various activated related to the dalits and was a student leader in the Ambedkar Students Association. Various reports claim that the administration discriminated against these dalit scholars because of their caste. It denied them the basic right to live and the right to education which pushed Rohit to take the drastic step. Casteism is highly prevalent across the country. With dalit students being out casted and shamed even in premier educational institutes in the country to dalit women being raped/ stripped naked and dragged in public in villages, innocent people pay the price of being born in an oppressed community. The denial of one's fundamental rights to live, the feeling of guilt, shame, loneliness, feeling victimised can drive one to take their own life. There are various signs a suicidal person shows, which if identified at the right time can prevent one from committing suicide. If you are feeling depressed and helpless and need some help, here are some helplines you can call. Someone who talks about feeling worthless and ending their life continuously is probably thinking about doing it. Assuming that he/she is just trying to seek attention could actually be disastrous. Hence, it is bet to take these comments seriously and listen to them attentively. A suicidal person is usually withdrawn and talks about being lonely. He/she might express feelings of failure, uselessness, lack of hope and loss of self-esteem. They also might constantly dwell on problems and refuse to let go of things. In such cases, it is best to make the person fell loved and needed and talk and listen to them. Read about how you can help a loved one in times of difficulty and prevent him/her from taking the drastic step. Image source: Gety Images/Image for representational purposes only.