Rohith Vemula hung himself on January 7. He mentioned Carl Sagan in his suicide note
Astronomer Carl Sagan's wife Ann Druyan has written a letter on Rohith Vemula, the Hyderabad research student whose suicide has triggered anger and massive student protests.
In his suicide note, 26-year-old Rohith had shared that he always wanted to be a science writer like Carl Sagan.
Ann Druyan has responded to Rohith's words - conveyed to her by journalist Rajeev Ramachandran - in a short but reflective letter.
"To read his suicide note and to learn the details of his predicament is to get a vivid inkling of the actual cost of bias to our civilization. If we could somehow quantify the totality of lost contributions and innovations as a result of prejudice, I believe we would find it staggering," writes Ms Druyan, who collaborated with Carl Sagan on his series Cosmos and also co-wrote books with him.
"You tell me, Rajeev: Is it possible that the attention paid to Rohit's story will lessen its chronic repetition? I am trying to find something hopeful in an otherwise heartbreaking example of needless suffering and squandered potential."
She said that she mourned Rohith's death and lost promise.
Mr Ramachandran has posted the letter on Facebook.
Rohith hung himself in the hostel of Hyderabad Central University on January 7, days after he and four other students were banned from the hostel, cafeteria and other common areas on campus for allegedly beating a rival student activist.
"I always wanted to be a writer. A writer of science, like Carl Sagan. At last, this is the only letter I am getting to write. I loved Science, Stars, Nature, but then I loved people without knowing that people have long since divorced from nature," Rohith wrote in his last note.
Rohith's supporters say he was ostracized for being a Dalit, an allegation that has set off a political controversy. Students and opposition parties allege that the university was forced to punish Rohith because of pressure from two union ministers, a charge that the BJP has rubbished.