Such a law was the Congress’s promise before the 2023 assembly elections. This comes days after Rahul also wrote neighbouring Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to urge him to have a similar legislation passed in the state.

Gandhi’s letter opened with him quoting Dr B R Ambedkar on two instances of caste discrimination the latter had faced. He quoted Ambedkar as having said: “There was plenty of food with us. There was hunger burning within us; with all this we were to sleep without food, that was because we could get no water, and we could get no water because we were untouchables”. Gandhi also quoted Ambedkar as having written, “I knew I was an untouchable, and that untouchables were subjected to certain indignities and discriminations. For instance, I knew that in the school I could not sit in the midst of my classmates according to my rank, but that I was to sit in a corner by myself”.

In the letter Gandhi wrote: “The murder of bright young people like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki is simply not acceptable. It is time to put an end to this. I urge the Telangana government to enact Rohith Vemula Act so that no child in India has to face what Dr B R Ambedkar, Rohith Vemula and millions of others have had to endure”.

Rohit Vemula’s suicide had led to nationwide protests against caste discrimination in educational institutions, especially those which impart higher learning, about a decade ago. Vemula was 25-years-old when he died by suicide, writing a poignant note which said, “The value of a man was reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility…My birth is my fatal accident”.