EVEN AS 2026 draws to a close, casteism persists as a relic of the past whose diktats deepen the cracks within society. The lived reality of caste continues to paint an unsettling picture across higher educational institutions. Between 2018 and 2023, 98 students died by suicide in these institutions, the majority belonging to the Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi communities, with the highest numbers recorded at premier government institutions like IITs, NITs, central universities and IIMs. Data submitted to a parliamentary panel shows complaints of caste-based discrimination in universities and colleges rose by 118.4 percent over five years, from 173 in 2019-20 to 378 in 2023-24.
On September 4, IIT Mandi found itself at the centre of controversy over its Janmashtami celebrations. A poster titled “Bhagavad Gita - The Timeless Wisdom” was reportedly displayed outside the institution’s auditorium. The poster emphasised karma and categorised the four varnas according to their assigned roles. It described the Brahmin's role as spreading God’s message, the Kshatriya’s role as protecting society and spirituality, and the Vaishya’s role as sustaining the economy. The row erupted over the poster's description of the Shudra’s role as “serving higher classes.” The institute has ordered an inquiry, and its director, Prof. Laxmidhar Behera, has said the poster carried no institutional endorsement.
Lok Sabha member Chandra Shekhar Azad condemned the poster on X, calling its language a violation of “social equality and constitutional values” and urging the Supreme Court to lift its stay on the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2026.
The Stayed Regulation and its Roots
The IIT Mandi controversy has resurfaced the UGC’s 2026 regulation on equity in higher educational institutions, a measure that has been contentious since publication. The UGC issued the regulation on January 13, 2026. Sixteen days later, on January 29, a division bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed it. The petition was filed by Mritunjay Tiwari, a post-doctoral scholar at Banaras Hindu University, along with advocates Vineet Jindal and Rahul Dewan. Their central contention was that the regulation's definition of “caste-based discrimination” covered only members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, excluding the general category, and that it built in no safeguard against false complaints.
