The Indian Supreme Court’s New Report on Caste: What Is It About and Why It Matters?
The Indian Supreme Court’s in-house think tank, the Centre for Research and Planning, recently released its ‘Report on Judicial Conceptions of Caste’ in November this year. This first-of-its-kind study examines...
Presumed Misuse, Denied Rights: Invisible Disabilities and the Structural Effects of Suspicion under Indian Law
Public controversies in India reignited longstanding anxieties around the integrity of affirmative action frameworks. The case of a probationary civil servant misrepresenting herself as disabled to avail disability quota, has...
How a Caste Census Could Transform India’s Reservation Policies
The Indian government recently announced that the next nationwide population census will be conducted in 2026-27, and will include collection of caste data. This was a central issue in the...
After SFFA v. Harvard, Universities Must Hold the Line
In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), the Supreme Court further limited a university’s right to consider race during admissions. This follows decades of caselaw restricting voluntary race-based measures...
(Un)Learning from the US Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Judgement: A South African Perspective
As explored in a recent blog (here), in Students For Fair Admissions, Inc. v President and Fellows of Harvard College, the US Supreme Court has held that Harvard and the...
The United States Supreme Court Puts an End to the Consideration of Race in University Admissions and Potentially Increases Racial Trauma for Applicants
On June 29, 2023, in a 6-3 decision by ideological lines, with a republican and conservative majority, the United States Supreme Court decided in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v....
Marginalized Twice Over: The Struggle of Dalit Christians in India
The extension of certain benefits (known as ‘Scheduled Caste benefits’) to Dalit Christians is a contentious topic in India which has gained renewed attention. ‘Dalit’ refers to a group of...
The Indian Supreme Court on Affirmative Action for the Upper Caste Poor – Part II
Image Description: A small signage which says ‘Reserved’. In this post, I continue to engage with the Indian Supreme Court’s decision in Janhit Abhiyan v Union of India. For an...
The Indian Supreme Court on Affirmative Action for the Upper Caste Poor – Part I
Image Description: A small signage which says ‘Reserved’ In Janhit Abhiyan v Union of India, a five-judge bench of the Indian Supreme Court was asked to decide on the validity...
A Critique of the Stigma Argument Against Affirmative Action in South Africa
‘White Backlash’ Against Affirmative Action in the United States and South African Courts
Image description: Demonstration in support of affirmative action outside the United States Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court has recently decided to hear two cases on race-based affirmative action in...
The Tune Goes On: Appointments to Tribunals Must Adhere to The Two-Thirds Gender Rule
In Bernard Odero Okello & another v Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, the petitioners challenged the appointment of the interested parties as members of the Business Premises...
