Outlook Magazine - Seeking Equity - 21 February 2026 Issue

This issue of Outlook looks at the anti-reservation sentiment in higher education. The UGC’s recommendations to end caste discrimination in university campuses, which the apex court later stayed, the protests that erupted, reflects a deep-seated insecurity on the part of the general category students. This comes a decade after a Dalit student Rohith Vemula killed himself calling his birth his fatal accident. Eminent columnists give their view points on the entire issue. Kishore Desai writes on how policy makers need to design assimilative systems, while N Sukumar says entrenched caste hierarchy feels power slipping out of its grasp. Surajit Mazumdar writes on the contradictory reality of Indian society while Ajay Gudavarthy traces the trajectory of reservation and its opposition With ground reports from various states, the issue delves into various cases of discrimination. Additionally, the Substrata section looks at the changing paradigm of relationships in the Indian society. Read all this and more in the latest issue of Outlook.