Radhika Vemula is an Indian activist for

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

rights and against caste based discrimination. She continues the work started by her son,

Rohith Vemula Rohith Chakravarti Vemula was an Indian PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad. From July 2015, the university stopped paying Rohith his monthly stipend of (excluding HRA), with friends alleging that he was targeted for raising issues on ca ...

(leader of

Ambedkar Students' Association Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA) is a student organization in India representing students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), religious minorities and other oppressed communities. ASA works for the ...

), who committed suicide in the

University of Hyderabad The University of Hyderabad (IAST: ''Hydarāvād visvavidyālayamu'') is a top ranking public central research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students a ...

in 2016 - an incident which sparked outrage across India and gained widespread media attention as a case of Dalit discrimination in Indian universities. During the protest at the University of Hyderabad, police had arrested Radhika Vemula and other students on the first death anniversary of her son. She is seeking to end caste discrimination in universities and other higher education institutions.

Family

Radhika Vemula mothered three children, her older son Rohith(30/01/1989 to 17/01/2016),a younger son Raja, and her daughter Nileema.

Conversion to Buddhism

On 14 April 2016, on the 125th

Ambedkar Jayanti Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti is an annual festival observed on 14 April to commemorate the memory of B. R. Ambedkar, Indian politician and civil rights activist. It marks Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's birthday who was born on 14 April 1891. Sin ...

, Radhika Vemula, and her son Raja converted to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Prakash Ambedkar Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar (IAST: Prakāśa Yaśavanta Āmbēḍakar) (born 10 May 1954), popularly known as Balasaheb Ambedkar, is an Indian politician, social activist, writer and lawyer. He is the president of political party called the Van ...

, grandson of

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

, initiated the family of Rohit to Buddhism at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhavan in

Dadar Dadar ( ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. Dadar holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first planne ...

, Mumbai.

References

Living people Indian women's rights activists Indian Buddhists 21st-century Buddhists Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism Year of birth missing (living people) Dalit women Dalit rights activists {{India-activist-stub Activists from Andhra Pradesh