UGC New Rules Spark Uproar in UP: Protests, Resignations, and Blood Letters

• New UGC rules, effective January 15, 2026, aim to prevent caste discrimination in higher education, explicitly including OBCs.
• Widespread protests erupted across Uttar Pradesh, with students and lawyers demonstrating in Ballia and Varanasi.
• Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith students shut down classes and protested on streets, calling the rules 'destructive'.
• Umesh Singh, City Minister of BJP's Yuva Morcha in Bahraich, resigned in protest against the UGC bill.
• A young man in Tiloi, Amethi, wrote a letter in blood to the Prime Minister demanding the withdrawal of the new rules.

Why It Matters: New UGC regulations, aimed at preventing caste discrimination, face strong opposition and protests across UP.