Reservation Protests Intensify in New Delhi Amid Calls for System Overhaul Thousands of demonstrators gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 21, 2026, under the banner of Reservation Hatao Andolan (RHA), a movement demanding sweeping reforms to India’s reservation policy. The protesters, organized through an Instagram page led by activist Harsh Dubey, called for a complete overhaul of the system, arguing that quotas in education and employment should be based solely on income rather than socio-economic categories. They also demanded the government roll back the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) 2026 caste-equity rules, which they claimed exacerbated inequality. The RHA movement gained momentum after Dubey, a student, launched the Instagram page during a broader protest against the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Following Pradhan’s departure, Dubey handed over control of the page to veteran activists Anuradha Tiwari, Ajeet Bharti, and Neha Das, who have long opposed reservation policies. The protests on August 21 came as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government reiterated its stance that reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes were not poverty alleviation measures but tools to ensure representation for historically marginalized communities. The government also announced its rethinking of the 2026 UGC regulations, which had sparked widespread protests in January 2026. On August 20, officials told the Supreme Court that they were reconsidering the rules, which critics argued disproportionately benefited certain caste groups.#harsh_dubey #reservation_hatao_andolan #anuradha_tiwari #ajeet_bharti #neha_das
