AN age-old evil that haunts Indian society, a decade long and partial move to ameliorate some of its effects in higher education, a new set of regulations and a fierce, almost orchestrated reaction amplified by the media – and bang! – the move was scuttled and any thought about it pushed down the road. This is the summary of the two-week journey of new UGC regulations that sought to tackle caste discrimination in higher education institutions.

The Supreme Court stayed the new regulations on January 29 and fixed a further date of hearing, directing that the earlier 2012 regulations continue in the meanwhile. Despite various limitations to the new regulations, it is clear that the apex court moved in after the outcry by upper caste students, some political parties including section of the ruling BJP, and a hysterical campaign by the media. The alacrity with which the reaction appeared, and the way in which events unfolded has led to many believing that this was an orchestrated show. From BJP to BSP, political parties were flip flopping, first reluctantly welcoming the new regulations and then welcoming the stay by the court! The elite panic subsided and everything was back to normal.

CASTE DISCRIMINATION

On January 13, 2026, UGC notified the regulations which had emerged from a long process of iteration, including under monitoring of the Supreme Court. They were to replace the 2012 regulations which had failed to make a dent in rampant caste-based discrimination that goes on in higher education institutions. It may be recalled that persistent practice of such discrimination ranges from daily taunts and slurs to physical harassment, and – much worse – to even institutional discrimination. Rohit Vemula’s suicide in 2016 and Payal Tadvi’s in 2019 became symbols of this deep and obnoxious malaise. In fact, a written response to Lok Sabha by then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in 2021 revealed that in higher education institutions run by the central government, 24 students from SC communities, three from ST communities and 41 from OBC communities committed suicide between 2014 and 2021. These institutions include central universities, IITs, IIMs, NIITs and various medical colleges. Data for State universities and other state-run institutions is not available, and likely to be equally shocking.

A measure of how effective the 2012 regulations were can be seen in the report about UGC’s recent admission to the Supreme Court that complaints of caste discrimination in universities have risen by 118.4 per cent over the last five years, increasing to nearly 400 from fewer than 200 a year.

Many analysts have pointed out the entrenched institutional biases that fester in higher education institutions, especially in elite institutions like IITs, IIMs, etc. Emblematic of this was a December 2020 recommendation by an eight-member panel of IIT directors formed by the ministry of education that reservations should be scrapped from IITs since they were “institutes of national importance and are involved in research”. If the directors themselves believe that SC/ST/OBC students are incapable of research one can imagine what the bureaucracy and students/faculty will be thinking.

Here is another example of institutional tilt: In 2021, the ministry of education informed  Lok Sabha that in 45 central universities, only one vice-chancellor from an SC community, and one from an ST community were appointed. Remember that it is a Constitutional obligation to reserve 15 per cent of seats in central institutions for SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs, 27 per cent for OBCs, and 10 per cent for the economically weaker sections (EWS).

Combined with the relentless discrimination in daily life, the growing number of students from SC, ST and OBC communities, as also other marginalised sections like Muslims, face a dire situation in what should otherwise have been a liberating and progressive atmosphere of learning. It was this situation that was sought to be addressed through administrative action.

CHANGE BETWEEN 2012 AND 2026

UGC’s the new regulations had the objective to “eradicate discrimination only on the basis of religion, race, gender, place of birth, caste, or disability, particularly against the members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, economically weaker sections, persons with disabilities, or any of them, and to promote full equity and inclusion amongst the stakeholders in higher education institutions”. They were to replace the 2012 regulations. They applied to all higher education institutions covered by the UGC, thus leaving out IITs, IIMs, etc. To achieve these objectives, every institution was to set up an Equal Opportunity Centre, an Equity Committee and Equity Squads.

The biggest difference between 2012 and 2026 regulations was that OBCs were included in the latter. This is what mainly caused the upper caste backlash. Besides this, some other notable differences included: the 2012 regulations were mostly advisory in nature, with no action recommended against the institution for non-compliance while the 2026 version laid down monitoring by UGC and heavy penalties, including disbarring from UGC schemes or even getting grants. The 2012 regulations provided for appointment of an Anti-Discrimination Officer and also provided for appeal before the head of institution against any decision by the Anti-Discrimination Officer. The new regulations had more detailed provisions for making complaints and the procedures of their disposal. There is no provision for dealing with false complaints, something that existed in an earlier draft.

The uproar over the new regulations focused on several perceived threats to upper caste students, including filing of false complaints against them, reverse discrimination, fomenting caste division and draconian penalties.

The Supreme Court, which was itself guiding and monitoring the process of drafting these regulations till last year and had given the green light to UGC to finalise the regulations, appeared to agree with the fears expressed by upper caste students and stayed the regulations.

BJP/RSS RIDING TWO BOATS

The fears of upper caste persons about reverse discrimination or deepening of caste divisions are far-fetched. Caste discrimination already permeates society and higher education institutions. Taking measures to stop such barbaric practices cannot deepen the division. This is the perverse logic that the defenders of four varna system, like the RSS/BJP and their associates, have given for decades. RSS has incessantly recommended ‘samrasta’ (literally, same emotion – meaning harmony) between various sections of Hindu society and vehemently argued against any measure that punishes the practice of discrimination. They argue that change of heart is needed which comes from persuasion rather than deterrence of punishment.

These are patently erroneous arguments and serve only to cover up the perpetuation of caste divisions and hierarchy. They have been practicing this for a century but failed completely in making any dent in the caste structures. The reason is that papering over caste divisions and appealing to change of heart is futile, considering the deep roots in tradition and even scriptural texts that the four caste system has. It is passed on every moment, in families and schools and social life in general.

But the RSS/BJP has another axe to grind – electoral supremacy. It has realised that without the support of Dalits, Adivasis and members of the vast OBC community it has little chance of winning elections. And, to win over these sections various symbolic gestures, half measures, and drum beating is what the BJP indulges in. The UGC regulations too fall in this category – they appear to take a stand against caste discrimination in universities and colleges and provide the usual administrative fix of committees and penalties. The previous version had failed so a new version of stronger measures would be a feather in the BJP’s cap – or so they thought.

Combining both these contrary objectives – ‘samrasta’ and active administrative fight against caste discrimination – required first notifying the regulations and then creating a public outcry against them – ultimately leading to a Court stay on rather specious grounds. The question is not if all this was planned and carried out by a cabal or senior leaders. This sequence of events is objectively serving the purpose of RSS/BJP’s objectives of trying to please everybody and hide the caste oppression that permeates Hindu society.