THIS IS WHAT “JUSTICE” LOOKS LIKE.
Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, waiting outside Azad Maidan after another day of hunger strike for their deceased 20-year-old son, Sahil Wakode. They are permitted to protest only until 6 PM. Then they leave and return the next morning. Their demand is accountability for their son's suicide and caste discrimination at IIT Bombay. The family has demanded action against Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla and IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare.
WE HAVE BEEN COMING HERE SINCE THE BEGINNING. Day after day, Sahil's parents sit inside Azad Maidan. They have said that Sahil repeatedly faced caste discrimination at IIT Bombay. An FIR was registered in connection with his death, and the Crime Branch investigation continues. And still, his parents are having to starve themselves to demand accountability.
Ten years after Rohith Vemula's death, India still does not have a national Rohith Vemula Act. THE ROHITH ACT WAS DEMANDED SO ANOTHER ROHITH WOULD NOT HAVE TO DIE. And now another Dalit student is dead, while his parents have clearly said it was due to caste discrimination and sit on hunger strike demanding accountability. WHAT JUSTICE IS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE?? Parents and students have to stop eating. A family demanding answers is kept outside the institution where their son died!
AND AZAD MAIDAN IS AN ISOLATED BUBBLE. And that is deliberate. It is controlled dissent. You are technically allowed to protest, but only in the designated space and only during permitted hours. Sahil's family received permission for the hunger strike only until 6 PM each day. What does the right to protest mean when the parents who are demanding accountability are kept physically separated from the institution they are protesting against?
THEIR PROTEST HAS BEEN KEPT AWAY FROM IIT BOMBAY. Sahil's parents say they have been prevented from accessing the campus. They are protesting at Azad Maidan instead. Meanwhile, 8 IIT Bombay students began their own hunger strike inside the institute in solidarity with the family and over demands for institutional accountability. So there are 2 hunger strikes. One outside the institution. One inside it. Politicians come, take pictures, and leave. Journalists come, take a bite, and leave. Very few people are around. Truly around. No agenda.
#JusticeforSahil