HYDERABAD: A FEW hours after Velipula Sunkanna refused to receive hisDoctorate from University of Hyderabad’s vice chancellor Appa Rao Podile at UoH’s 18th convocation ceremony held on Saturday, congratulatory messages started to flood Sunkanna.
He said after the incident, a few students from Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) told him that they would have too followed the suit if they were informed of it in advance.Sunkanna said that the decision was taken by him at the convocation ceremony and was not pre-planned. Sunkanna is one of the research scholars who was boycotted from social spaces of the university, along with Rohit Vemula. He along with Rohit had staged a protest to revoke the order. He completed PhD in Philosophy in March-2016. “Usually, it is the chief guest who awards the degrees at convocations. But I learned at the ceremony that it was Appa Rao will hand over degrees.
Then I decided not to accept the degree from him,” Sunkanna said. Bibek Debroy, member of NITI Aayog, was chief guest of the convocation. When asked if he was in two minds about refusing to accept the degree, Sunkanna said he was determined but there was some hesitation about reactions. “Since I was alone and it is a bold step, there was some hesitation. I was wondering how will people, vice chancellor, will react to it. But I was determined o refuse to take degree from him and I maintained dignity in expressing my dissent,” Sunkanna said.