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A Tamil Nadu Dalit research scholar pursuing his PhD in Malaysia invoked the memory of Rohith Vemula in an emotional appeal, alleging that a prolonged dispute over an overseas education scholarship has now put his research and academic future at risk.
Bharathidasan Raman, a native of Usilampatti in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, and a PhD scholar at the National University of Malaysia, said in a tearful video that the delay in receiving financial assistance under the Annal Ambedkar Overseas Higher Education Scholarship has left him struggling to continue his research and facing the possibility of losing his academic enrolment. The scholar alleged that, after he raised concerns over the non-release of scholarship funds, officials began questioning his research requirements and the materials he had sought funding to purchase. He said the situation had created pressure at a stage when his PhD itself was at risk. Invoking Rohith Vemula, whose death in 2016 became a national flashpoint over caste and the treatment of Dalit students in higher education, Bharathidasan said he feared facing similar institutional pressure. The comparison is being made by Bharathidasan himself; the circumstances of his case and Vemula's case are not identical. The allegations triggered a political confrontation in Tamil Nadu, with Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin backing the scholar and demanding that his education not be disrupted. DMK president MK Stalin also intervened and offered support for the continuation of Bharathidasan's education. The Tamil Nadu government, however, disputes the scholar's account of the scholarship issue. Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu said the government had approved Bharathidasan's scholarship for three years and had already released financial assistance. According to the government's version, further payments were linked to the submission and verification of expenditure records and supporting documents. Bharathidasan disputed that explanation and maintained that he submitted the required documents. The latest allegations of harassment have not been independently established, and the government has not accepted the student's account. The controversy is significant because the Annal Ambedkar Overseas Higher Education Scholarship is intended to enable students from disadvantaged communities to pursue postgraduate and research education abroad. Bharathidasan said the consequences are already extending beyond finances and threatening his research career. For a Dalit student who says he fought his way into overseas research, the message in his latest appeal is stark: the scholarship dispute, he says, is no longer merely about money; it is about whether he can remain in the PhD programme he worked to reach. (ANI)
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