Much tears have flown down the cheeks of our leaders since the ill fated extremely tragic suicide death of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar of the University of Hyderabad. I had visited the University thrice in various capacities but could never imagine the kind of morass it would sink into, as it has shown imperceptibly in Rohith’s death, following nine such Dalit suicides in the campus in recent times.

And contrast that with the pomp and pageantry of India’s Republic Day parade on Rajpath today, 9 days later, with the nation rejoicing at the Prime Minister’s flowing yellow turban juxtaposed against the staid demeanour of Francois Hollande. Is that a fitting tribute to the hoary traditions of democracy and justice which we lauded?

In fact the Indian Constitution, the ageless and matchless document of human equality and justice anywhere in the world, is so badly mauled today that 150 odd top intellectuals from all over the world have signed a joint letter to the Vice Chancellor of UoH for having ignominiously been a party to this sordid incident, a man who bolted from the scene within an hour of its occurrence.