Protesters rally over alleged introduction of quota for non-SC/ST students in government hostels in U.P.

Alleging the introduction of a quota for students belonging to other social groups in government-run hostels for students of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) was illegal, SC students in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday (September 18, 2025), conducted a protest march.

“It amounted to snatching away the rights of a marginalised group,” they said, demanding the immediate intervention of the State Government.

The students, numbering in the hundreds, started their protest march from Gorakhpur’s Townhall Chowk and reached Ambedkar Chowk. They threatened they would launch a more radical protest if the allotment of seats to other communities was not rolled back.

The hostels are run by the U.P. Social Welfare Department.

“Through a Government Order number 4261/ dated 26.03.1987, dedicated residential hostels are established across the State for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) students for the upliftment of these social groups. In the academic year 2025-26, the allotment of seats in these SC/ST hostels has changed and is now done through an online process. People of General and Other Backward Classes are being allocated seats in these hostels, which is in complete violation of norms and an infringement of the rights of SC/ST students. We demand immediate cancellation of the 30% quota of other social groups in government SC/ST hostels and request that all seats are filled with students of SC/ST communities,” the letter written by the students to U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says.

MLC Devendra Pratap Singh also took part in the protest, and vowed to stand for the rights of marginalised communities.

“Such a decision is unacceptable. The government must roll back the order. These hostels are exclusively dedicated to SC and ST students. Today’s protest has been attended by thousands of students from the SC community,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu.