Caste

The Double Stage: Caste’s Schizophrenic Modernity between Spectacle and Shadow

Caste from the pre-modern, colonial to the post-Republican; this analysis draws from, among others, works by Nicholas Dirks (2001), Anand Teltumbde (2014) and Gopal Guru (2016) to map this transition showing that contemporary caste should be best understood as a sort of social schizophrenia driven by imaginative acts whereby power perpetuates itself through a convoluted hermetic legitimising act in India.

The interplay of caste and faith

While faith often overshadows special marriages, experts talk about how caste and religion both influence this social institution

Hyderabad: Interfaith couple attacked, man stabbed to death!

The couple had gotten married, against the woman's family's wishes, on January 22 this year

UP’s Dy CM’s “Brahmin a superior way of living life” a sign of poll panic?

Dinesh Sharma says proud to be Brahmin, at the same time ‘slams’ opposition for being ‘casteist’ 

Segregated burial grounds, a violation of the Constitution: Madras High Court

The court observed that allowing a separate burial ground based on caste promotes segregation, that is the opposite of the idea of Equality envisaged by the Constitution

Conversion will not change caste of a person: Madras HC

Judgment addresses matter of issuance of certificates in case of inter-caste marriage, and makes observations about impact on caste-based reservations

Gujarat: Dalit family attacked for entering Kutch temple

Six members of the family were attacked, their farmlands ravaged; 20 accused, five detained so far

Punjab: Newly-weds, hacked to death, allegedly by woman’s family

Both families are from the OBC community, but were from different economic backgrounds; 16 including woman’s kin booked

Karnataka: Dalit family fined Rs 25,000 for ‘purification ritual’ after toddler runs into temple 

Days later, police register case under the SC/ST prevention of atrocities Act, arrest five

Assam Tea Tribes served another set of vague promises

Despite five-hour long meeting, no commitment on granting tea tribes ST status or increasing daily wages in line with demands of tea estate workers

Chorus grows for Caste-based Census

In the rup-up to the long overdue Census 2021, many leaders among the ruling government itself are making such demands now. Will the government give in?

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From D-Voter Tagging to Citizenship Declaration: Anowara Khatun’s case before the foreigners’ tribunal

A Goalpara woman’s case underscores structural barriers faced by economically disadvantaged individuals in proving citizenship

Rebuild or Compensate: Nagpur HC confronts NMC over ‘bulldozer’ demolition in riot case

Court flags prima facie breach of Supreme Court safeguards; asks civic body to decide whether it will reconstruct the house or pay damages

CJP’s 2025 Hate Watch: leading the fight for accountability in the digital media

In 2025, CJP emerged as India’s leading voice confronting digital hate on television, spearheading sustained NBDSA interventions that challenged communal broadcasts/debate, secured corrective orders, and strengthened accountability frameworks to restrain the spread of hateful and polarising content across news media

The Double Stage: Caste’s Schizophrenic Modernity between Spectacle and Shadow

Caste from the pre-modern, colonial to the post-Republican; this analysis draws from, among others, works by Nicholas Dirks (2001), Anand Teltumbde (2014) and Gopal Guru (2016) to map this transition showing that contemporary caste should be best understood as a sort of social schizophrenia driven by imaginative acts whereby power perpetuates itself through a convoluted hermetic legitimising act in India.

UGC Guidelines 2026: AISA Protest at Delhi University followed by sexual abuse allegations amid police presence

Delhi university has seen persistent protest by Ambedkarite and left groups demanding implementation of the UGC Guidelines 2026 that were summarily stayed by the Supreme Court; in one such, a confrontation during a mobilisation over UGC equity regulations, AISA women leaders were subject to brute and allegedly sexualised threats, while a right-wing YouTuber filed a separate assault complaint; police have registered parallel FIRs

12 Bengali migrant workers murdered in 6 states, Maharashtra tops the crime list

Following the recently unleashed hysteria on the misnomer “Bangladeshi immigrants”, spearheaded by BJP elected officials from the Centre to States, as many as 12 Bengali migrant workers have been murdered, revealing the physical targeted harm that can flow out of systemic hate speech made by those in public authority; these are statistics compiled by the West Bengal Migrants Welfare Board; 4 of the 12 killed have been in “progressive” Maharashtra and 10 in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Against the Script of Hate: How ordinary citizens are reclaiming public space

A shop sign in Kotdwar, a shutter kept open in Nainital, a landlord’s refusal in Purola, and a Valentine’s Day standoff in Jaipur — how everyday acts of defiance are reshaping the narrative of communal tension in India