There is a parable in the Bible called the ‘Tower of Babel’. Humans decide to create a tower that would reach heaven. God realises that if all humans spoke the same language, they would be able to achieve their goal. He introduces many languages to cause 'babel' - the Hebrew word for confusion. Humans, unable to communicate, lose their way, and fail in creating the tower.
Two mothers - Radhika Vemula and Abeda Salim Tadvi - channelled their decade-long grief of losing their bright adult children to caste discrimination by filing a PIL, which translated into the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. These mothers found an institutional mechanism to protect other children from a hostile environment that has the power to steal one’s will to live, let alone achieve mobility. The words used in the 16-page UGC document are gentle: ‘sensitise’, ‘protect’, ‘equity and equal opportunity’, ‘promote equity’, ‘transparent’, ‘fair’ and ‘non-discriminatory’. The Regulations seek to create a ‘socially congenial atmosphere’ for students in higher education. It proposes displaying posters and appointing ‘equity squads’ and ‘equity ambassadors.’
After much organised outrage by upper-caste groups throughout the country, the Supreme Court of India has stayed the UGC Regulations, calling them ‘vague and easy to misuse’