https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsu8qPaPiDA

A video tribute to Rohith Vemula, a 26-year-old PhD student at Hyderabad University in India who hung himself January 17, 2016 after being persecuted & thrown out of school by university officials for being a Dalit (formerly known as untouchable) activist.

He was an embodiment of what Gramsci called the “organic intellectual,” a person from the oppressed with a unique ability to educate & inspire others because he did not place himself above his caste nor seek to rise above others but only to rise with the oppressed.

His tragic death continues to broaden & strengthen the movement against caste oppression. Tributes to his life have already begun with days of protests & events across India.

May he RIP. May his fighting spirit inspire the struggle against oppression everywhere.