Bahujan Students’ Front (BSF)
Jai Bheem to all. We, Bahujan Students’ Front- University of Hyderabad, appeal to all concerned individuals and organisations to read this and come out with all possible help and support.
BSF-UoH has initiated a fund collection towards financial support for Rashmi Ranjan Suna’s family. The fund will be collected in the account of Ananda Meher, Organising Secretary, BSF-UoH who also hails from Odisha and has been in constant touch with Rashmi Ranjan’s family. The money collected will be then transferred to the account of Rashmi’s sister, Padmabati. We will publish all fund transfers to Ananda’s account and the subsequent transfer to Rashmi’s family’ account.
We appeal to all to come forward and contribute towards supporting Rashmi Ranjan’s family and the cause of Justice for Rashmi Ranjan.
The account details for fund donation is: Name- Ananda Meher
Account number: 31887391811
Branch: Hyderabad University Campus
IFSC: SBIN0005916
8297309165 (Paytm, Google Pay)
For more information please contact: Ananda Meher (83090-17012)
Kathi Anil Kumar (8179779575)
Rashmi Ranjan Suna (1992-2018), our Ambedkarite friend and brother, was unjustly taken away from us on 25.11.2018. He was suffering from dengue but the negligence by the Health Centre at the University of Hyderabad and the gross mistreatment at Himagiri Hospital took his life. Rashmi Ranjan was the first to graduate from his village and was on his way to becoming the first doctorate from his village in Kalahandi in Western Odisha, one of the most backward districts in the country. He was in his 4th year of PhD in Physics at the University of Hyderabad, a first generation Dalit learner who could have been an asset to the Bahujan community.
A friend from BSF recounted a conversation he had with Rashmi Ranjan as such, “We learn in school books that animal sacrifice (bali) to earth god for better cultivation is a blind belief. Then why do we not learn that giving coconut, fruits, and sweets to god Ganesha for gaining knowledge is also a blind belief”. Rashmi Ranjan was an active member of Odisha Research Scholars for Social Justice (ORSSJ), an anti-caste reading circle in HCU. He was a JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) scholar funds from which also assisted his family financially. He was a vocal anti-caste activist and an active member of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Yuvak Sangh in Odisha. He had taken initiative this year to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti for the first time in his village. He had directed many plays to educate his village residents against superstition and blind faith as well as create anti-caste consciousness among the people in his village. He was instrumental in naming a street in his village after Babasaheb Ambedkar.
His academic achievements are a challenge to the Brahminical notion of merit. Despite all odds and the Brahmin state created marginality, he graduated and secured a PhD seat in Physics in HCU with JRF, no mean feat for marginalised communities. He has co-authored two research papers in international journals, namely “Amplified Measurement of Weak Optical Activity using a Spin-Phase-Gradient Beam” in the Journal of Optics Letters and “Spin-orbit Beams for Optical Chirality Measurement” in Applied Physics Letters. He had also recently received the Best Poster Award in OSI-ISO conference held at IIT-Kanpur. Such was his mind, Rashmi Ranjan, a committed Ambedkarite and a scientist in the making.
Rashmi Ranjan is survived by his parents and one younger sister Padmabati who is also still pursuing her education. His father Sunil Suna and mother Hansamani Suna were working on a daily wage basis in Surat till last year. They had to stop when Mr. Sunil Suna was diagnosed with a kidney problem. Rashmi Ranjan was solely supporting the parents and sister’s education through his JRF money. The family needs all your support to fight for not just survival but also justice against corporate hospitals like Himagiri Hospital, against which an FIR has been registered in Hyderabad.
The University of Hyderabad administration has clearly stated that they would not be giving any compensation to the family. This is gross injustice since the university is also responsible as it was unable to provide any health care and could only suggest Himagiri Hospital for treatment. Himagiri had already been blacklisted and yet the University Health Centre recommended the same to Rashmi Ranjan. This recommendation ultimately cost him his life when the misdiagnosis of Rashmi Ranjan at Himagiri led to multiple organ failure and his death. The university’s attitude towards the healthcare of its students is to be questioned here. HCU student fraternity has come out seeking justice for Rashmi Ranjan and his family and the struggle is on. In the meantime, we appeal to all concerned to come out with financial aid for the family in this hour of need.
Thank you. Jai Bheem!
~ Bahujan Students’ Front-UoH
(All India SC ST OBC and Religious Minorities)
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