On Thursday, September 18, 2025, hundreds of Scheduled Caste (SC) students in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, launched a powerful protest march. Their anger was directed at the state government’s alleged new policy introducing a quota for students from other social groups in government hostels specifically designated for SC students, which they assert is entirely illegal.
The students passionately argued that this move ‘amounts to snatching away the rights of a marginalized group,’ and they called for urgent intervention from the State Government to rectify the situation.
Their march commenced at Gorakhpur’s Townhall Chowk, culminating at Ambedkar Chowk, where they issued a stern warning: if the contentious allocation of seats to other communities is not immediately revoked, they are prepared to escalate their demonstration into a ‘more radical protest.’
These crucial hostels fall under the administration of the Uttar Pradesh Social Welfare Department.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the students highlighted a government order from March 26, 1987 (number 4261/). This order, they stated, established dedicated residential hostels across the state specifically ‘for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) students for the upliftment of these social groups.’ However, for the academic year 2025-26, the online seat allocation process in these hostels has allegedly been altered, resulting in General and Other Backward Classes being assigned seats. The students emphasized that this is ‘a complete violation of established norms and a direct infringement of the rights of SC/ST students.’ Their clear demand is the ‘immediate cancellation of the 30% quota for other social groups in government SC/ST hostels,’ insisting that all available seats be exclusively filled by students from SC/ST communities.
Adding weight to the student’s cause, MLC Devendra Pratap Singh joined the protest, publicly pledging his unwavering support for the rights of marginalized communities.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Singh declared the government’s decision ‘unacceptable’ and reiterated the call for an immediate rollback of the order. He stressed that these hostels are meant ‘exclusively for SC and ST students,’ noting that ‘thousands of students from the SC community’ participated in the day’s significant protest.