Ujithra Ponniah

In my new open access article, I show how the mercantile claim to political power in contemporary India is economic, moral, and symbolic. The paper strengthens the relationship between wealth, caste, and elite action. #abstract" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Opinion | India’s divorce rate stands at just 1%, reflecting deep-rooted social norms and limited female economic independence. Legal and social barriers persist, making divorce a privilege for few. Why does India have an abysmally low divorce rate? Read here: #read-more" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">thequint.com/opinion/divorc…

Raymond Suttner leaves the Durban supreme court in 1975 after being sentenced to seven and a half years in jail. He was charged on two counts under the Suppression of Communism Act. At the time he lectured law at Natal University. Image Source: M&G

Rest in peace, my friend.

Shanthie Naidoo (born 1935) is a South African anti-apartheid activist and victim of severe state persecution. Banned in 1963 and 1968, she spent 371 days in prison, most of it under solitary confinement (1969–1970) for refusing to testify against Winnie Mandela and other activists. She later went into exile in London and Tanzania. Source: SAHO/Anti-Apartheid Legacy. Photo Credit: Arena Holdings

White Afrikaans 'refugees' returning to South Africa due to financial concerns, difficulty adapting to American culture and feeling culturally isolated despite integrating into workplaces and schools When U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a special refugee pathway for white South Africans in 2025, the policy sparked global attention. The program allowed Afrikaners—descendants of mainly Dutch settlers and Afrikaans-speaking South Africans—to enter the United States under claims of discrimination and violence at home. Several thousand Afrikaners took the opportunity to relocate to the United States due to a false narrative of a non existent genocide on white farmers in South Africa. South Africa’s government strongly rejected the claim that white citizens face systematic persecution. Officials argued that crime affects all South Africans regardless of race and that police statistics do not support the narrative of targeted anti-white violence. The U.S. initiative prioritized Afrikaners for refugee admission, dramatically reshaping the country’s refugee system and reducing the overall annual cap to just 7,500 people. The Trump administration justified the policy by citing alleged discrimination and violence against white farmers and landowners in South Africa. The first group of Afrikaner families arrived in the United States in May 2025, greeted with media attention and political debate. Yet, not long after arriving, some families have begun returning to South Africa, citing a range of personal and practical reasons for leaving the U.S. One of the most common reasons cited by returning Afrikaners is the high cost of living in the United States. Healthcare in particular can be a major adjustment. Unlike South Africa’s mix of public and private systems, medical treatment in the United States often requires expensive insurance or high out-of-pocket payments. For some Afrikaner families, the economic trade-off simply did not make sense in the long term. While American salaries are often higher, everyday expenses can be significantly greater than in South Africa. Housing, health insurance, childcare, and education can place heavy financial pressure on families. Many newcomers discover that even well-paying jobs can leave little disposable income once those costs are covered. bzzlifenews.com

The idiot box in our bedrooms wants us to believe that the Muslim man is the only problem, and the Hindu state the only savior. 'Seher Honai ko Hai' on Colors TV pushes prejudiced tropes on treatment of Muslim women. Ujithra Ponniah writes. Read: thequint.com/opinion/seher-…

New research from @thesamasher et al. using data from 1.5 million urban and rural neighborhoods in India. "Muslim and Scheduled Caste segregation in India is high by global standards, and only slightly lower than Black-White segregation in the US" nber.org/system/files/w…

@UjithraP on grief and dignity in anti caste politics in the face of the recent UGC proposed reforms.

Please read this excellent piece by @UjithraP

The Hindu upper castes of India, having consolidated their economic, political, and symbolic power by pushing India from the world’s largest experiment in democracy to an elected autocracy, would like to rule with an iron fist. They might tolerate dole-outs from time to time – to build their affirming deposit of karma through philanthropy, but they will not tolerate a language of rights. Radhika Vemula & Abeda Tadvi channelled the grief of losing their children to caste discrimination by filing a PIL. @UjithraP writes. Read here: thequint.com/opinion/suprem…

My two pennies...

Ordering now!

Open Access | Seeing the Sangh is the world’s first comprehensive map of the organisational affiliates surrounding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh—which together constitute the largest far-right network in the world. This interactive dataset, which currently includes comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data on over two thousand and five hundred organisations, is stored at a repository housed at the Science Po’s Centre for International Studies (CERI), and has been fact-checked and published by The Caravan. Explore the network map here: rssproject.caravanmagazine.in For a deeper reflection on why such an intervention is necessary, see Felix Pal’s (@FelixPal8) essay, “Exposing the largest far-right network in history”, read here: caravanmagazine.in/politics/unvei…

📢 Caste and Elite Studies: Panel Discussion with Professor Ajantha Subramanian, Dr Ahmed Memom, Dr Suraj Beri & Dr Ujithra Ponniah 🗓️ 2 Dec | 🕒 13:00–14:15 (UK) Wealth in India remains concentrated among a small group of privileged social groups—especially ‘forward’ castes in urban areas. 🔗 Sign up: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

Rajasthan’s fascinating political landscape tracked and studied by @manwithaquill and Tabeenah Anjum. Waiting for the release! Congratulations to both authors

Brahmin–Bania synergy ensures that while Muslims are scapegoated and Rajputs are historically and politically side-lined, the real beneficiaries are the Brahmin-Bania elites who monopolise both state power and wealth.

Caste and Elite Studies: Panel Discussion with Prof. Ajantha Subramanian, Dr Suraj Beri, Dr Ahmed Menon, and me on December 2nd, 13:00-14.15 (UK Time). If interested, please sign up using this Google form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

CSDS announces its newly minted & very exciting 'Writing Workshop Series on Voice in Academic Writing' to be held in-person @csdsdelhi from 9-11 December 2025. Limited Seats. Do apply and quickly! For more info and registration: csds.in/csds_writing_w…

@shkashyap_ I have a photocopy of the syllabus sitting in a carton box in my parents loft. I can find it in December and share.

Bit of a shot in the dark but does anyone here have the reading list for MSS Pandian's course "Caste, Culture and Community: An Alternative Intellectual History of Modern India" at CHS, JNU? jnu folks help me out here! retweet for reach pls - coffee on me if you are in Delhi :)

Why is the conversation being turned inward in this pedantic manner when the minority upper caste groups hold economic, political, social and symbolic power?