Institutions have become killing fields now, says cinematographer Ranjan Palit

Dalit student Rohith Vemula was the centre of discussion among those who attended the third People's Film Festival at the Jogesh Mime Academy. If cinematographer Ranjan Palit sang and dedicated 'Let there be no killings' to Rohith from Hyderabad, festival organiser Kasturi Basu spoke about her interaction with him on social media.
Speaking to TOI, Ranjan recalled an incident during this FTII days.'I was shooting a diploma film for my batchmate, Shyam Ranjankar. He was a dalit. It was an anti-religion film about a young guy getting off a train at midnight in Pune and getting caught in riots. Both Hindus and Muslims are after him, questioning his religious identities. The fact that I was close to him became a joke among some of my professors who then used to call me dalit Palit. They would say, 'Palit, tu abhi dalit ho gaya',' Ranjan recalled.
That incident was in 1981. 'Thirty five years hence, I see history repeating itself except the climate now is much more against dalits or minorities. At that time, I dismissed it as a joke in bad taste which was at the expense of a community. Today, the price is heavier. Shyam is still around and hopes to make his first feature film this year which I am supposed to shoot. Rohith, unfortunately, paid with his life,' he said, before showing a small installation of a poem and two photographs that he had dedicated to Rohith. Ranjan's poem read thus: 'A pair of mating butterflies dance on a highway on noon/ A passing truck is a harbinger of doom/Night. 2 fireflies form a funeral pyre/A cemetery of lost desire'.
Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula felt unions failed him, hints his suicide letter
At the festival, every participant was given a badge that had Rohith's photograph and the lines 'our heads hang in shame. We take a pledge today to fight till caste if annihilate'. Conversation among the participants soon veered towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing sorrow over the death of Rohith. 'He has expressed his sorrow. But this is not just about the Prime Minister. There have been FIRs lodged against two ministers. Unfortunately, institutions have become killing fields now.' Basu, on her part, spoke about how she found a connection between Rohith's ideology and what was shown in the documentary 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai'. 'Rohith and his organisation was working on Muslim dalit unity. It's coincidental how that issue had been dealt with in the film. We, in Kolkata, were the first to screen 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' as part of the Cinema of Resistance movement. I am happy with the way the incident has stirred a protest across all sectors,' she said.
Film-maker Deepa Dhanraj agreed. Though she didn't want to get into the specifics of Rohith's death, she said, 'Obviously, one is very pained. One can hardly read his suicide letter. But I don't want to give a knee-jerk reaction. What I feel good about is the response of the students all over the country. There are protests from students. They are holding meetings.' Calling it a very positive step, she said, 'It shows that students are thinking about the nature of the institutions and are raising questions. It is fantastic that the students are responding to the challenges.'