UGC's New Anti-Discrimination Rules Spark Nationwide Protests, Legal Challenges

• UGC's "Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026" mandate Equal Opportunity Centres and grievance helplines to combat caste-based discrimination.
• The rules apply to all stakeholders—students, staff, and administration—and broadly define discrimination, focusing on SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and PwD categories.
• Critics argue the regulations discriminate against General Category students, lack provisions for penalizing false complaints, and create a "reverse bias" with reserved category representation in equity committees.
• The controversy has led to political resignations, threats of large-scale protests by organizations like Karni Sena, and a PIL filed in the Supreme Court.
• BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and the Ministry of Education are working to address "misconceptions," asserting the rules apply equally to all categories under the Constitution.

Why It Matters: UGC's new anti-discrimination rules in higher education face widespread backlash over perceived bias and lack of safeguards.