MyVoice: Views of our readers 29th January 2026

UGC must address core causes of alienation

This is in reference to your editorial ‘UGC guidelines must have proper safeguards’ (Jan 28). The UGC’s newly notified Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026 should be seen as one more extension of mindless protectionism that panders to the SC/ST/OBC communities without addressing the core causes of alienation.

Instead of creating genuine parity, such measures deepen perceptions of unequal advantage and resentment among those excluded from these protections. A truly level-playing field must be established first to correct structural disparities.

K R Venkata Narasimhan, Madurai

Good push against caste-based bias on campuses

UGC’s Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026, mark an important advance in fighting caste-based discrimination on campuses. By mandating equal opportunity centres, equity committees, strict timelines for handling complaints, and real penalties for non-compliance, the rules aim to create safer, more inclusive environments for SC, ST, and OBC students and staff.

At the same time, worries about possible misuse of these provisions—through false or exaggerated claims—are valid and need addressing to preserve fairness for everyone. The UGC could strengthen the framework by adding simple safeguards like initial screening of complaints for prima facie merit, provisions to penalise only those proven malicious, and balanced representation in committees.

Avinashiappan Myilsami, Coimbatore-641402

UGC treading a blind alley

The UGC appears to be treading a blind alley, fraught with institutional and social landmines, alienating other communities in the process - through its newly notified Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations.

Reports of a district magistrate resigning in protest and unease even within the BJP’s top leadership signal the gravity of the misstep. A truly Viksit Bharat demands balanced, enabling policies—not regulatory excess that weakens institutions and national confidence.

S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

An ill-conceived framework

Apropos ‘UGC guidelines must have proper safeguards’, protective legislation has too often become a blunt instrument—used to threaten, silence, or cover incompetence rather than ensure justice.

Capable students and professionals are sidelined, breeding resentment and eroding faith in meritocracy. This ill-conceived framework weakens campuses and makes authorities’ mute spectators.

K R Parvathy, Mysuru

Pandora’s Box

The UGC’s new equity framework opens a Pandora’s Box already visible under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Laws designed for protection are increasingly misused for intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and institutional blackmail, harming innocent citizens and employers. Instead of encouraging excellence, the system incentivizes grievance over merit and masks inefficiency.

This has created deep frustration among communities denied comparable safeguards. This policy risks deepening social fault lines and must be withdrawn immediately.

K V Raghuram, Wayanad

Budget balancing need of the hour

This is further to the column “Here is what the 2026–27 Union Budget might look like,” (THI Jan 28). It rightly points out the delicate balance the Budget must strike between sustaining economic growth and maintaining fiscal discipline. Increased public spending on infrastructure, manufacturing and green energy can provide a much-needed stimulus, generate employment and strengthen India’s long-term competitiveness.

At the same time, continued emphasis on capital expenditure must be matched with prudent management of subsidies and revenue mobilisation to avoid widening the fiscal deficit. Overall, the article underscores that the Union Budget 2026–27 will not merely be an accounting exercise but a statement of economic intent. Its success will depend on how effectively it reconciles growth ambitions with social equity and fiscal responsibility.

K V Chandramouli, Mysuru