Rohith Vemula Bill Fails to Take Off in Telangana

…Supreme Court advocate Disha Wadekar participated in the meeting as a legal expert. She has also represented Radhika Vemula and Abeda Salim Tadvi in matters concerning caste discrimination in higher education. “ The UGC regulations are mandatory; they are not advisory. But they are regulations, whereas an Act has legislative force ,” Wadekar said. She argued that statutory backing could strengthen compliance when university bodies failed to act under existing regulations. Telangana’s working title uses the broader term “identity-based…

…Bill, 2026. The Rohith Bill is still with a Cabinet sub-committee, which sought public feedback on it, even though the monsoon session ended on September 18, while Karnataka’s Cabinet cleared its version on April 16. “ Campus discrimination can happen at a micro level, and this kind of discrimination needs to be investigated ,” said Daya, president of the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) at the University of Hyderabad. He said physical abuse or an explicit slur did not cover the full range of unequal treatment students could face and…

…president of the All India OBC Students Association and a UoH PhD scholar, said the association had asked Karnataka to extend protection to OBC students and wanted Telangana to include them in its legislation. “ They have not consulted us. We have been asking them to include OBCs also ,” he said. Dr B. Karthik Navayan, a Telangana High Court advocate and human-rights activist, had argued in written feedback to the Campaign for Rohith Act in October 2025 that an Equity Committee within an institution…

…within an institution would lack structural independence. He proposed district-level anti-discrimination committees outside campuses, fixed inquiry timelines and penalties for institutions obstructing complaints. “ Without structural independence in inquiry, Rohith Vemula’s legacy will fail. It becomes another paper tiger ,” he wrote. The demand for a Rohith Act dates to protests following Rohith Vemula’s death at UoH in January 2016. The Congress subsequently adopted the proposal in its national policy. Its 2024 Lok Sabha manifesto…

…said mandatory orientation there addressed race, gender, migration and harassment before students began academic courses. The Human Rights Forum (HRF) also sought regular sensitisation in educational institutions. “ We support the Bill, but legislation alone will not remove discrimination or prejudice. There has to be regular sensitisation and education across campuses and educational institutions ,” said S. Jeevan Kumar, a member of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Coordination Committee of Human Rights Forum. Kumar said the state could issue interim anti-discrimination guidelines while the Bill remained…