The Latest: Top stories of the day.

1. Moving on from Pathankot, India and Pakistan will soon meet for talks.
2. Lack of funds forces luger Shiva Keshavan out of World Championships.
3. Chess is waste of time, forbidden in Islam, says Saudi Arabian mufti.
4. At least nine killed in blast near Giza pyramid.

The Big Story: Caste away

Buckling under pressure from protesting students, the executive council of the University of Hyderabad on Thursday revoked the suspensions of four Dalit PhD scholars who had been penalised, along with Rohith Vemula, in December.

The students, who are members of the Dalit student body Ambedkar Students’ Association, were barred from entering the hostel, library, mess and other common areas in the university premises. The suspension was a result of a clash with the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarti Parishad. On Sunday, after weeks of sleeping out in the open, Vemula committed suicide.

However, the protesters rejected this move, and demanded the resignation of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile instead. They also chased away two professors the vice chancellor had sent to hold a dialogue with the students.

Rohith Vemula’s suicide has placed in sharp focus the issue of caste on India’s campuses. Almost seven decades after Independence, caste remains a major factor in schools and universities. Earlier in November, 2015, the National Human Rights Commission had investigated the practice of school students in Tamil Nadu wearing coloured wristbands to indicate their caste. Colleges in the state also saw a mass agitation around the issue of inter-caste marriages.

Even elite institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology, Madras are not immune. Last year, under pressure from the Union Human Resources ministry, IIT Madras had derecognised a Dalit students’ body, the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle. The action was based on an anonymous complaint that the body was against Prime Minister Modi.

The Big Scroll on the day's top story

Yashica Dutt, who has hidden her caste all her life, comes out as a Dalit. Rohith Vemula was called an “anti-national” before this death – but the people who did so are the ones harming the country and have always done so.

This has happened before: At Hyderabad University 20 years ago, memories of another tragedy that divided the campus. Even today, an exclusionary and humiliating campus culture led to Rohith Vemula’s suicide says Ex-UGC chairman Thorat. But, against all odds, Dalit solidarity today has grown: a look at the How Hyderabad’s Ambedkar Students’ Association grew to establish a national footprint.

In all of this, can political correctness around privileged castes speaking about caste actually hurt the cause of removing caste?

Politicking and policying
1. Seven pro-talks United Liberation Front of Asom leaders met the Union government’s interlocutor.
2. Fifteen Dalit Christians were converted to Hinduism in a joint ceremony in Vellore.
3. Associate Journals will relaunch the Congress publication, the National Herald.

Punditry

1. The Modi government has put in place actions that will seriously threaten federalism in India, warns Prabhat Patnaik in the Telegraph.
2. Form triumphs over substance in Modi’s Start-Up India campaign, argues Suveen Sinha in the Hindustan Times.
3. Solar tariffs have touched a record low this year. This is likely to spur lower rates, more competitive bidding and a further push for renewables, explains Vandana Gombar in the Business Standard.

Don’t Miss
Veejay Sai on the life of Mrinalini Sarabhai.

Her work was a reflection of the milieu in which she was raised. Born to women’s rights activist Ammukutty and lawyeer Subbarama Swaminadhan on May 11, 1918, Mrinalini , the youngest of four children, grew up in a family, famous for its involvement in politics and civil society as the freedom struggle raged. Her sister would grow up to become Captain Lakshmi Sehgal and would fight alongside Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

As was commonplace for elite families of that era, the young Mrinalini’s parents initially discouraged the girl when she wanted to take to dance. For upper-caste families, especially in South India, dancers were thought to be of questionable morality. In fact, Mrinalini’s parents went so far as to send her away to Switzerland, hoping she would forget her passion. However, in Europe, Mrinalini began training in western dance. Seeing her keen interest in the art form, her mother realised that she had no option but to encourage her daughter to take to Indian classical dance.