A hundred Vemulas in the crowd

HYDERABAD: Walk around the University of Hyderabad campus and there are chances you will meet Rohith Vemula - in hundreds.
Every second person in the campus is now sporting a Rohith Vemula face mask. Over the last four weeks, his smiling face has become synonymous with the student movement launched in protest against discrimination faced by Dalit students.
The university on Monday saw a large number of students donning T shirts with the printed sketch of Rohith's face as well as face masks - all sponsored by students. Nearly Rs 50,000, donated by students and visitors at the venue, is being used to make these protest memorabilia.
Also, to support the movement, nearly 120 student volunteers are extending services round the clock, be it arranging for stationery, food and beverages, dissemination of information or guarding the tents where students are on an indefinite hunger strike.
"I just looked back and for a moment thought Rohith was sitting in the crowd. It's overwhelming to see so many people wear his face mask. We do not want his sacrifice to be forgotten. The number of people wearing these masks and T-shirts show they also do not want this to fade away," said Krishna N, a JAC member.
Meanwhile, support is also coming in the form of sponsored food packets. Around 4,000 packets were distributed on Monday alone, when all the shops inside the campus were shut by the police for security reasons.
Despite closure of all entry routes and shortcuts to the university to prevent students from varsities such as English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu), Osmania University (OU) and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Manuu) from participating in 'Chalo HCU', nearly 7,000 students managed to reach the venue through the day.
"I wanted to have a Rohith Vemula T-shirt, but the JAC members ran out of these by 1.30 pm. Then I requested a painter, who was sketching Rohith's face on a paper cup to make one for me. This is a historic moment, no one must forget this," said Suresh V, a student from Pondicherry University, who visited the campus on Monday.
Students from IIT Mumbai and IIT Delhi expressed support by sending a canvas with 3,000 signatures on it.