Saints, Upper Castes Protest UGC Equity Regulations 2026 in Varanasi

• Swami Jitendranand Saraswati, National General Secretary of the All India Saints Committee, strongly opposed the UGC Equity Regulations 2026.
• He stated that the law is a 'conspiracy to divide Hindu society' by considering one section exploited and instilling caste discrimination among youth.
• The regulation lacks provisions for punishing false complaints and creates a perception that being born into an upper caste is a crime.
• Swami Jitendranand appealed to PM Narendra Modi to demand the resignation of those responsible for the law, including the UGC Chairman or Human Resources Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
• Protests against the UGC rules continued for the second day in Varanasi, with upper caste community members demonstrating on the streets and outside the Collectorate.

Why It Matters: Saints and upper caste communities in Varanasi are protesting UGC Equity Regulations 2026, calling it divisive.