The UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 (known as the new UGC Act/Rules) were notified on January 13, 2026, and came into effect on January 15, 2026. The UGC stated that the purpose of these regulations was to prevent caste discrimination and promote equality in higher educational institutions. However, this regulation was the exact opposite of what the UGC had stated. It was a complete caste discrimination and inequality. It was also a blatant violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which states that all citizens of India, regardless of caste, region, or social status, are equal before the law. This discriminated not against one or two castes, but against the entire upper caste community. And this discrimination is so profound that under this law, upper castes are not even given the right to appeal against the allegations leveled against them.
If the UGC took such a disastrous step, it cannot be its sole decision. It cannot be, it is certainly not be only UGC ruling. Because this bill was enacted as a law after a decision by a special parliamentary committee. Therefore, it is unlikely that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would not have noticed it. I say unlikely because it is possible that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan or someone else simply told them to create new UGC rules, and they simply ignored it, considering it a UGC and university issue, and did not take it seriously. But this is also highly unlikely, because the working styles of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are not so weak. Yes, it’s possible that he was told that implementing it in a small section of the university wouldn’t do much harm. However, using this as a pretext to win over a large section of OBCs could easily lead to the formation of a government led by PM Modi for the fourth consecutive term at the Centre. And everyone knows how much PM Modi cherishes the position of Prime Minister. He’ll go to any lengths to secure the Prime Minister’s position.
In the past, he has backtracked after taking idealistic stances on issues ranging from the Land Acquisition Act to farmers’ issues. When the Supreme Court delivered a popular verdict under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Atrocities Act, denying the accused imprisonment unless the frame is charged in the court, he used his majority at the Centre to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision, fearing the loss of the Prime Minister’s seat due to the loss of votes from these communities. However, in response, upper castes prevented the BJP from coming to power in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi realized his grave mistake and appeased the anger of the upper castes by providing reservations under the EWS category for the upper castes as well.
When this new UGC regulation was notified on January 13th and implemented on January 15th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take it seriously and continued to harbor the illusion that he would return to power at the Centre for a fourth time thanks to the large OBC vote bank.
But as soon as this new UGC regulation came into effect on January 15th, the upper castes intensified their agitation, first by taking to the streets across the country and later taking the matter to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a very clever step by sending Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to the upper castes to make them understand that the rule would not harm anyone. At that time, the Narendra Modi-led government had the idea of coaxing the upper caste with such sweet talk and, in the meantime, furthering its own interests by asking the UGC to relax this rule for a few days and not take any action against anyone. Just like the law that requires recovery of Rs 1 crore as fine from drivers in road accidents, and many other laws in the country that is stagnant only in words and that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre can implement these at any time.
But the upper castes were not going to fall for this trick. They continued their street protests until the Supreme Court, on January 29th, declared the rule discriminatory and suspended it, recommending the implementation of a similar UGC law of 2012. The Supreme Court, while calling the law a retrograsive step, also said that it would drag the country back into the quagmire of old casteism. The Supreme Court directed an expert committee, comprising experts from all sections of society, including the ruling party and the opposition, to deliberate on the matter and submit an affidavit to the court by March 19th.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now fully realized his mistake and is no longer going to be fooled. He appears to be working to address the issue himself to avoid the risk of angering the upper castes. Whether the OBCs will fully support the BJP is uncertain, as they are a stronghold of many states and regional parties. In such a situation, PM Modi cannot afford to anger the upper castes.
This is perhaps why the central government did not file an affidavit in the Supreme Court on March 19th regarding this new UGC regulation. One key way to avoid contempt of court proceedings in this matter is that the Supreme Court has directed that the affidavit be filed based on a decision from an expert committee. The central government’s failure to file an affidavit upholding the UGC regulation indicates that the PM Modi-led government has now understood the importance of the upper castes. Until the central government convenes an expert committee and files an affidavit in the Supreme Court based on its findings, this new UGC regulation will remain in limbo. No one can implement it without the expert committee’s decision. This can be considered a major victory for the upper castes. And when PM Modi realized his mistake, he didn’t file an affidavit in the Supreme Court, in a way intended to create a sense of victory for the upper castes.
Furthermore, to divert attention from this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now started talking about introducing a bill related to women’s reservation in Parliament before 2029. Although this bill was passed in Parliament, it was considered holistically. Despite this, opposition leaders may call for amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill to introduce caste-based reservation for women. Then, the Narendra Modi government at the center can thwart the opposition’s efforts by claiming that the UGC bill has been stalled by the Supreme Court. And in the matter of electoral reservation for women, women of the upper caste will continue to enjoy the same rights as women of other castes.