Mishra has served twice as UP BJP president, and three terms as Rajya Sabha member. He was a Union minister from 2014 to 2017, and has been governor of Himachal and Rajasthan.
The order was a response to a petition by Sahil Arsh, an MBBS student suffering from a 40% visual impairment and denied a transfer to a Delhi college despite deteriorating health conditions due to high temperatures in Barmer.
In the Indian education system, neo-casteism encompasses many forms of caste-based profiling, manipulation of nomenclature, political rigmaroles, and fearmongering.
Regulations exclude ragging, presume only certain castes can discriminate, petitioners argued. Bench suggests setting up expert committee of sociologists the rules.
Temples, military labour markets, and land-grant regimes structured medieval caste hierarchies. Today, access to education, employment, bureaucratic categories, and media platforms do.
As the Shankaracharya row escalated, GST Deputy Commissioner Prashant Kumar Singh quit, citing 'moral responsibilities towards the government that pays my salary'.
In September 2025, the Supreme Court directed the UGC to tighten anti-discrimination rules, including policies on ragging and caste bias in higher educational institutions.
Upper caste students fear new equity rules will be misused against them. Education minister has said: 'No injustice, oppression, or discrimination against anyone.'
PCS officer Alankar Agnihotri resigned in protest against new UGC regulations aimed at combating caste discrimination. State govt issued suspension order & initiated enquiry.
The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
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