Rohith Chakravarti Vemula was an Indian PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad. From July 2015, the university stopped paying Rohith his monthly stipend of ₹25,000 (equivalent to ₹32,000 or US$400 in 2020) (excluding HRA), with friends alleging that he was targeted for raising issues on campus under the banner of Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA), an Ambedkarite student organization. After a series of flip-flops, the five were suspended in September. On 17 December, the decision was upheld.