The regulations enabled such students to register complaints when they faced discrimination or ill-treatment on account of their identities. The hostility directed at the regulations, thus, reflects not exclusion but resistance to constitutional values of justice and equality. The agitation mounted by sections of the upper castes fits squarely within Ambedkar’s analysis of caste as a system that protects privilege while normalising contempt for those placed lower in the hierarchy. The agitation against the UGC Equity Regulations exposes the hollowness of Hindutva’s claim to be a unifying force transcending caste. As Ambedkar repeatedly argued, caste is anti-national, and resistance to measures aimed at annihilating caste and upholding equity amounts to resistance to the constitutional vision of India.

Source: Indian Express February 14, 2026 14:03 UTC