By the Numbers: India To Include Caste in Census Setting Off Identity Politics Fight
NEED TO KNOW
By the Numbers: India To Include Caste in Census Setting Off Identity Politics Fight
INDIA
In April, the release of a new Indian film about two 19th-century anti-caste activists was delayed following protests from Brahmin groups who said it defamed their communities.
As a result, India’s Central Board of Film Certification demanded changes to the film, Phule, which told the story of a married couple, Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule, who fought against the caste system and caste discrimination, the Independent wrote.
The film and the controversy around it underscore how the caste system, a hierarchical and hereditary social system that has governed Indian society for thousands of years, is still a very sensitive and tricky subject, as Phule director Ananth Mahadevan noted.
“This film does not exaggerate or fictionalize history,” he told the Times of India. “We (Indians) do not seem to have progressed – in fact, we seem to have regressed in many ways, despite many things that Jyotiba and Savitribai fought for…having been achieved…But caste discrimination continues to plague our society.”
The rigid system still dictates life for a majority of India’s 1.4 billion people, from what to eat to where to live, to whom to socialize with or marry, to what educational and professional opportunities are available.
At the top of the ladder are the Brahmins, or the priestly class, while at the bottom are the Indigenous tribes and the Dalits, once known as the “untouchables” before “untouchability” was outlawed in 1950.
For decades, the government has insisted that the caste system doesn’t belong in modern-day India.
However, in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the upcoming census, delayed since the pandemic, would ask Indians about their caste identity for the first time since 1931, when India was still a British colony and the British counted Indians by caste.
After independence in 1947, the government then established specific categories of castes in the constitution, only specifically mentioning the lower castes, and using affirmative action and other policy tools to help them rise socially and economically. For example, it set aside a certain percentage of public jobs and educational slots for these groups. It also banned caste discrimination and stopped counting people by caste to promote unity and equality.
Now, however, the government said that counting caste will “ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure…This will ensure that society becomes stronger economically and socially, and the country’s progress continues without hindrance.”
The announcement set off shockwaves across the country.
Opponents argue that the nation should be trying to move away from these labels instead of reinforcing them with a census count. At the same time, upper castes oppose it because they are worried about losing their advantages in society, analysts say.
Meanwhile, the Dalits and others have been pushing for such a move for years, saying their communities are socially and economically marginalized, claims that studies confirm, analysts say. They want more attention and aid focused on their groups, and more jobs and educational slots set aside for them, and quotas expanded to private companies, and the judiciary.
And they want the violence against them to stop: The National Crime Records Bureau reports over 50,000 caste “atrocities” against Dalits every year.
Supporters say that collecting the data is important to account for population growth and social mobility within a caste.
“We are effectively flying blind, designing policies in the dark while claiming to pursue social justice,” Poonam Muttreja of the Population Foundation of India told CNN. “So, the next census is going to be a historical census – and this data will stare at people’s faces.”
“(It) forces the state to confront structural inequalities that are often politically and socially inconvenient,” she added.
Modi, like his predecessors, has long resisted including caste in the census. But the shock upset in the election last year changed his position: His Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win a majority in the legislature for the first time since 2014, partly because of rising discontent among lower-caste voters over the issue of caste.
Now, the BJP faces elections in November in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, where caste is a major issue for voters, something the BJP is aware of, analysts say.
Bloomberg columnist Andy Mukherjee, a Brahmin himself, says regardless of the political motives, the caste census is necessary because caste is “the biggest obstacle to India’s embrace of modernity.”
“Discriminating against people based on who they marry and what they eat may have fitted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s 1925 vision of a Hindu nation-state lorded over by Brahmins (but) it’s a costly fantasy in a secular republic,” he wrote. “For people to discard this abhorrent marker, it’s important for the state to gauge it accurately.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Iran Condemns US Strike On Nuclear Facilities Amid Global Calls For De-escalation
IRAN/ ISRAEL
Iran condemned the US airstrikes on its nuclear facilities Sunday, warning of “everlasting consequences” and accusing Washington of a grave breach of international law, even as world leaders reacted with alarm to the sudden escalation in fighting between the United States and Israel, and Iran, in an already volatile Middle East, Axios reported.
On Saturday, the US launched overnight attacks on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, in a dramatic expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict that erupted on June 13.
US President Donald Trump said the goal was to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity and halt what he called “the nuclear threat posed by the No. 1 state sponsor of terror.” Declaring it a “spectacular military success,” Trump warned that if Tehran retaliates against Americans or their property, the US would strike again “with force far greater than what was witnessed.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately praised Trump’s “bold decision,” calling it a historic move that “will change history.” In a video statement, Netanyahu reiterated the phrase “peace through strength,” saying the US action showed “a lot of strength” and would make Israel safer.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the strikes as “criminal behavior” and “a grave violation of the (United Nations) Charter,” Politico added.
Araghchi said Iran “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests and people,” adding that diplomacy had been “blown up” by the US and Israel.
Following the strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared “war starts right now” and threatened retaliation against US military installations across the region, Euronews wrote.
The weekend strikes marked a historic US military intervention against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, long considered off-limits by previous administrations. Observers noted that the strikes followed a failed diplomatic outreach effort via Turkey last week, as the US sought backchannel talks with Iranian officials.
The airstrikes drew strong condemnation from Russia and China, with Moscow calling the attack “a gross violation of international law” and warning of further global instability. China said the bombing seriously violates the UN Charter and urged all parties to de-escalate, according to CNBC News.
Russia has supported Iran with technology to develop its nuclear program, while China is a major buyer of Iranian oil.
Meanwhile, US allies in Europe and Australia expressed fear about the risk of further escalation.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for Iran to “engage in a credible diplomatic solution,” while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Iran to resume negotiations. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned the conflict could spread without a diplomatic off-ramp.
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia expressed “great concern,” and Lebanon warned the strikes could trigger broader instability.
Rwanda Arrests Opposition Leader in Crackdown on Dissent
RWANDA
Rwandan authorities arrested a prominent opposition leader on suspicion of forming an armed rebel group and planning activities intended to incite public unrest, a move that her legal team and observers say underscores the country’s continued crackdown on dissent under President Paul Kagame, the Financial Times reported over the weekend.
Late last week, Rwandan officials confirmed they detained opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, who is being held at a police station in the capital, Kigali.
Her arrest follows her appearance in court on Thursday as a witness in a case involving nine defendants accused of plotting to remove the government through non-violent means.
Prosecutors say Ingabire communicated with the group, provided financial support, and organized training on unconstitutional regime change.
The defendants stand accused of participating in an online training session hosted by a European non-governmental organization in 2021.
Her lawyers rejected the claims as baseless, calling the arrest “unlawful and arbitrary” and part of an ongoing campaign of political intimidation, according to Radio France Internationale.
Ingabire, a Hutu politician and founder of the DALFA-Umurinzi party, returned to Rwanda from exile in 2010 to contest the presidential election but was barred from running and later imprisoned for 15 years on charges of terrorism and denying the 1994 genocide.
In 2017, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that her rights had been violated over her 2010 imprisonment. While the government ignored the ruling, Kagame pardoned her in 2018.
Even so, she has remained a vocal critic of Kagame, who took control of the African nation after the 1994 genocide and has been in office as president since 2000.
Though he has been praised for the country’s economic development since the genocide, the long-running leader has come under criticism for his continuous stifling of dissent.
Numerous members of the opposition have been imprisoned, while others have died under mysterious circumstances.
Analysts suggested that the recent arrests highlight concerns about domestic stability within Kagame’s regime, particularly amid rumors about the president’s health and rising international pressure over Rwanda’s role in regional instability, such as its aid to rebels invading the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Last week, Rwanda and the DRC agreed on a draft deal to end decades of conflict in talks mediated by the United States and Qatar.
Panama Declares State Of Emergency In Banana-Producing Region
PANAMA
The Panamanian government over the weekend suspended key constitutional rights in the western province of Bocas del Toro following two months of anti-government protests over pension reform that turned violent late last week, the Associated Press reported.
The five-day emergency declaration will restrict the right to assemble and freedom of movement in the banana-producing region.
Panama has been grappling with mass demonstrations since March when the government passed a controversial pension reform measure that critics say slashes worker protections and social security guarantees.
The unrest has been particularly intense in Bocas del Toro, with protests largely led by workers at a local banana plantation of multinational giant, Chiquita.
On Thursday, violence erupted in the provincial city of Changuinola after masked individuals breached the local airport, looted an office and warehouse belonging to Chiquita, vandalized vehicles from rental companies, and partially set fire to the city’s baseball stadium.
At least one person died and around 30 people were injured, including police officers.
On Friday, Presidential Minister Juan Carlos Orillac described the state of emergency as necessary to “rescue” the province from “radical groups.” He condemned the overnight destruction as “unacceptable and not representative of legitimate protest.”
The government previously imposed a state of emergency in the region in late May without suspending constitutional protections.
The banana multinational firm and Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino previously called the strikes illegal, with Chiquita firing around 5,000 employees, according to Al Jazeera.
The government’s move underscores the myriad of challenges the right-wing president has been facing in recent months: Mulino has faced protests over an April military cooperation agreement with US President Donald Trump allowing American troops to operate from Panamanian bases along the canal.
Trump had threatened to “take back” the US-built canal, prompting Mulino to offer the concession to avoid escalating tensions with Washington.
Environmental groups are also protesting the president’s proposal to reopen Cobre Panama, one of Central America’s largest copper mines, previously shuttered because of environmental concerns.
DISCOVERIES
Wiggly Towers
Microscopic nematode worms are capable of a miraculous feat: Living worm towers.
The squiggly organisms cooperate with each other to form these towering structures to escape tough situations or food scarcity, a new study has found.
Researchers in Germany recently captured the first-ever footage of these writhing worm structures in the wild. Using a digital microscope, they discovered nematode towers sprouting from decaying apples and pears in orchards near the University of Konstanz.
“I was ecstatic when I saw these natural towers for the first time,” the study’s senior author, Serena Ding, said in a statement, adding that this behavior has long been observed in labs but never documented in nature. “For so long, natural worm towers existed only in our imaginations. But with the right equipment and lots of curiosity, we found them hiding in plain sight.”
Despite their wiggly appearance, the team noted that the towers were not “just a pile of worms,” but more of “a superorganism in motion.”
Inside them, only one nematode species was present and only in the “dauer” stage, a tough, larval form suited for survival and dispersal. These dauer towers acted similarly to living antennae, swaying together in unison, responding to touch, and even launching themselves onto passing fruit flies to hitch a ride to more habitable environments.
“The towers are actively sensing and growing,” explained the study’s first author, Daniela Perez. “When we touched them, they responded immediately, growing toward the stimulus and attaching to it.”
Back in the lab, the researchers recreated the phenomenon using Caenorhabditis elegans, a widely studied nematode species. Within two hours, hungry worms climbed a toothbrush bristle and assembled themselves into towers that were stable for more than 12 hours.
Some even stretched out exploratory “arms” and bridged gaps to new surfaces.
Yet despite their architectural flair, the worms seemed to operate without hierarchies: Individuals from both the base and the tip were equally strong and fertile.
The researchers hope that the findings can provide some answers to how group behavior in animals evolves, such as in insect swarms or birds migrating together.
“Our study opens up a whole new system for exploring how and why animals move together,” Ding suggested. “By harnessing the genetic tools available for C. elegans, we now have a powerful model to study the ecology and evolution of collective dispersal.”