SC-ST-OBC dilemma: Karnataka’s Rohith Vemula Act on caste bias on college campus stuck in red tape

For the last two years, the Congress-led government of Karnataka has moved slowly on the implementation of the Karnataka Rohith Vemula (Protection of SC/STs from Caste Discrimination in Higher Educational Institutions) Bill, 2025. The legislation was a promise in the Congress manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had written to Prime Minister Siddaramaiah in 2025: For the legislation to be passed at the earliest.

The debate over the proposed law came to the fore again after the Supreme Court of India struck down the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2026 and subsequent agitations for and against the regulations. The Rohith Vemula Act in Karnataka was supposed to be implemented much earlier than the UGC regulations but is now taking a backseat.

Mavalli Shankar, State Convener of the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, said the Samiti plans to petition the Chief Minister this week, demanding the enactment of the law in the upcoming budget session of the Karnataka legislature. “According to UGC statistics, persecution of SC/ST students on campuses has increased by 118.4% in the last five years. These students need proper legal protection so that they can pursue higher education with dignity and the Rohith Vemula Bill 2025 is a solution to this problem. On one hand, the UGC regulations have been repealed, on the other hand, the Congress government in Karnataka is unnecessarily delaying the enactment of the Rohith Vemula Bill.” he said.

Sources said the debate over whether only SC and ST students should be included in the purview of the law or whether students from other oppressed communities should also be included has delayed its enactment.

The law will focus on SC-ST students

Dalit Ph.D. After Rohith Vemula’s suicide. Academician at Central University of Hyderabad said on January 17, 2016, due to caste-based discrimination, there was a clamor from students and parents to implement the Rohith Vemula Act to address discrimination against students from SC-ST communities in institutions of higher learning.

The draft Bill prepared by the Department of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Government of Karnataka, proposed to protect the right to education and dignity of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minorities. It may be recalled that even the latest UGC Equality Regulations include all four communities.

However, Dalit groups strongly opposed it. There are many differences between the discrimination faced by OBC and minority students and the discrimination faced by SC/ST students. Officials maintained that if necessary, separate laws should be passed or anti-ragging laws should be further strengthened to prevent persecution of OBC and minority students.

In this context, pro-Dalit organizations led by Minister Priyank Kharge have urged the government to implement the Rohith Vemula Act, 2025 specifically for SC and ST students.

GoK Minister of Higher Education Dr. MC Sudhakar said, “The Rohith Vemula Bill-2025 is still being discussed. The draft has been completed. Many discussions have been held with stakeholders, including the Rohith Bill Campaign team. We have decided to implement the Act only for SC/STs. Meanwhile, the UGC has included OBCs in its recently implemented Act. Therefore, we aim to ensure that this bill does not become redundant.” he said.

civil society draft

A civil society group called Rohith Bill Campaign has submitted the draft Rohith Vemula Bill prepared by legal experts and university professors to the government. It was learned that the government considered many articles in this bill in the final draft.

Although Law Minister HK Patil, Higher Education Minister Dr. While several rounds of discussions have been held with MC Sudhakar, Minister Priyank Kharge and the Rohith Campaign Act team and the draft has been finalised, the government is yet to submit it to the legislature.

Back and forth

Sources said that the draft bill has been sent to the Social Welfare Department for comments, after which the government will table the bill.

Minister Priyank Kharge said, “The draft has been prepared by the Law Department. The Higher Education Department has decided to seek the opinion of the Social Welfare Department on the draft. The framework for SCs and STs is with the Social Welfare Department. So their views are required. This may come for discussion during the Budget Session.” Hindu.

It was published – 16 February 2026 09:58 IST