The Week India - July 29, 2018

CURRENT EVENTS

ANDHRA PRADESH

IN THE LAST two years, Radhika Vemula has attended

around 70 public meetings and protests across the country.

Th e mother of late dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, who com-

mitted suicide in the University of Hyderabad—he, allegedly

had to face caste discrimination—has been travelling across

the country making her voice heard, as a mother and as a

dalit woman. At a recent meeting organised by the Bahu-

jan Mukthi Party in Bihar, it was suggested that she contest

against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok

A mother’s A mother’s

metamorphosismetamorphosis

Radhika Vemula’s evolution

from a poor tailor to a

gutsy fi ghter against anti-

dalit atrocities has been

dramatic

BY RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

24 THE WEEK^ • JULY 29, 2018