Author: Shivam Raghuwanshi

Shivam Raghuwanshi and Navdeep Singh The past few weeks have witnessed an intense political climate, largely fuelled by the contentious UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, which have sparked nationwide uproar. These regulations have reignited the deeply entrenched caste debate, a persistent feature of India’s social discourse since the freedom struggle, and one that has profoundly shaped the republic’s constitutional and legal architecture. Caste-based reservations have long been politicised, particularly after the implementation of the Mandal Commission Report under the V. P. Singh government. Since then, caste has remained a decisive axis of electoral mobilisation and…