Hyderabad/New Delhi: University of Hyderabad students and activists of the Ambedkar Students Association held a silent protest at the Velivada on the campus to mark the suicide of university alumnus Muthukrishnan Jeevanantham, a Dalit scholar at the JNU.
Muthukrishnan, who hailed from Tamil Nadu, was an active member of ASA and had participated in agitations after Rohith Vemula’s suicide.
He had written a note, ‘A Universal Mother Without a Nation’ on the injustice done to Rohit Vemula and his mother.
His friend suspected that Muthurkrishnan had been murdered as his body was found hanged with a sari in the flat of a Japanese national at Munirka, Delhi, on Sunday. However, reports from Delhi said that he had used a blanket to end life.
Also, there was no suicide note left behind. UoH PhD student S. Munna said, “Muthu overcame many hurdles to pursue higher education. He challenged the notion of merit by his tireless work to get admission in UoH and JNU. His death signifies the failure of society in general and JNU in particular.”
He further said, “We suspect his death to be a murder as he was found hanging in his friend’s flat. If it was a suicide, how did he get a sari in a Japanese national’s flat? In most cases, a person leaves a suicide note but in his case there was none. That is really suspicious.”
Son not coward to end life, says Muthukrishanan’s mother
Struck with disbelief over the mysterious death of Muthukrishanan, family members and friends describe him as a ‘brave man with an indomitable fighting spirit.’
“My son is not a coward to commit suicide. His body should be brought to Salem only after the Central government orders a CBI probe into the death. A post-mortem can be performed under the observation of a special medical team here,” said Muthukrishnan’s mother Alamelu. She works as a daily-wager.
His sister Jayanthi said that Muthukrishnan aspired to become an IAS officer. “My brother saw IAS Iraianbu sir, as his role model and aspired to become like him. He worked as a supplier in a hotel in Delhi in part time to meet his educational expenses. Even with that little earnings, he would send us money to take care of our needs,” she said.
Since his college days in Salem, JNU has been his go-to destination. Though a bright student, things did not fall in place that easily for Muthukrishnan as he managed to enter the portals of this prestigious institution only after a couple of failed attempts. “It shows his fighting spirit to finally achieve, what he intends to,” says G. Boopalan, who studied BA with Muthukrishnan in Salem Government College.
“My friend Muthukrishna was a book worm and would always come first in studies during college days. He used to teach others the nuances of learning lessons in a simple manner and stood as an example for others to follow. Gifted with good English speaking skills, he always had a helping mind,” he added.
Delhi police: Deceased not part of any political group
A day after a 29-year-old Dalit student allegedly committed suicide at JNU, the Delhi police on Tuesday claimed that the student was not part of any politically active group on the campus.
The deceased J. Muthukrishnan, who had named himself “Krish Rajini” on Facebook, hanged himself at his Japanese friend’s house in Munirka using a blanket on Monday.
While the JNU students shared Muthukrishnan’s Facebook posts condemning the Hyderabad varsity’s alleged role in Rohith Vemula’s suicide and criticism of JNU’s admission policy, the police ruled out any political affiliation of the JNU student.
“It is too early to comment on his association (with Rohith Vemula). But so far, we know that he (Krishnan) was not associated with any student groups active in JNU,” DCP (South) Ishwar Singh said.
