India is a peculiar country and her nationalists and patriots are a peculiar people. A patriot and a nationalist in India is one who sees with open eyes his fellow men treated as being less than man, but whose humanity does not rise in protest. (Dr B.R. Ambedkar)On December 22, 2025, the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan, made remarks that juxtaposed caste and the constitutional provisions for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC, ST) communities in a rather troubling manner. Kalyan argued that dedicated schools for SC and ST students would perpetuate caste and run counter to the objective of annihilating caste.This position arises from a limited understanding of the foundations of Indian society, shaped by socio-political compulsions including a conscious attempt to sustain caste capital.Kalyan’s comments cannot be seen in isolation. They are part of a widespread trajectory, that extends beyond Andhra Pradesh, to brush aside the brutality and persistence of caste in mainstream discourse in order to appeal to hegemonic caste pride.This tendency has contributed, over the years, to the growth of narratives against affirmative action policies meant to counter caste oppression. It is naïve to assume that everyone in India rejects caste – while those who suffer under, struggle to dismantle it, those who benefit from, seek to preserve it, as it grants them hegemony, power, position and capital. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NANDYAL PKFC (@nandyal_pkfc)First in film, now in politics, Pawan Kalyan questions separate hostels for Dalit and OBC students.Caste capitalCaste functions as the foundation of capital in India, operating as a form of social capital that largely benefits hegemonic castes. An individual’s progress is shaped by their position within the caste hierarchy. What matters the most is who you know and who you are rather than what you know. Caste capital operates through closed networks across socio-economic, political, educational and cultural spheres, reinforcing shared interests while keeping the marginalised groups excluded thereby limiting their upward mobility.The absence of social capital continues to constrain the progress of these groups in every sphere, including education. This pattern has persisted for more than 3000 years, during which these communities have been denied access to assets, human rights, knowledge, dignity and even basic resources such as drinking water.In response to this unequal structure, the Constitution introduced provisions aimed at improving the educational and economic conditions of marginalised groups. A recent Oxfam study, reported in The Telegraph in 2026, highlights the important and long-standing role of affirmative action policy in reducing socio-economic inequalities in India. Despite this, Kalyan, who comes from a Shudra background, questions the very basis of special provisions for SC and ST communities while extending support to reservation claims from his own caste, as reported by The News Minute in 2020.Atrocities in Andhra PradeshIn 2025, NDTV reported an upper-caste teacher brazenly abusing SC students regarding their caste at a government school in Yandapalli, Kakinada district. The school falls within the district represented by Kalyan.In April 2025, Dalits in Mallam village in Kakinada district resisted and demanded justice after the suspicious death of an SC man. In response, as the Hindu reported, a “social boycott” was imposed on them by members of the dominant Kapu community. Kalyan has remained silent on this to date, even though the deceased man was a registered member of Kalyan’s party, Janasena. The locality falls within Pithapuram, Kalyan’s assembly constituency, and the accused shares caste affiliation with him.In May 2025, India Today reported that in Tirupati, an engineering graduate was kidnapped, assaulted and forced to drink urine; he belonged to an SC community. There has been no condemnation from Kalyan. He has responded to incidents in neighbouring states and countries, but not to those within his own constituency or state – if not as deputy chief minister, if not as a political party leader, then at least as an MLA, he should have spoken out.This pattern of silence is not accidental, but points to a conscious attempt to appease dominant groups and appeal to caste consciousness in order to consolidate a political base. In another case, involving the rape and murder of a tribal schoolgirl in Kurnool district in 2017 – on the premises of her school – Kalyan stated that justice would be delivered once his party came to power. His party assumed power in June 2024. However, in 2025, the Central Bureau of Investigation informed the Andhra Pradesh high court that it had “no resources to probe” the matter.Non-market discrimination: educationIn August 2023, in Tamil Nadu’s Nanguneri, a SC student and his sister were attacked in their own home by fellow students because the boy had excelled academically. In July 2022, in Rajasthan, a third standard SC boy was assaulted by a dominant caste teacher for drinking water from a pot designated for upper castes; he later died from his injuries.As recently as September 2025, the Supreme Court directed the University Grants Commission to take stringent measures to address caste-based discrimination across higher education institutions. Data from the University Grants Commission indicates a 118% increase in reported cases of caste-based discrimination across universities, the Times of India recently reported.As Garima Bhandari and A.J. Mishra note in their study of mid-day meals in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, caste-based discrimination persists even in the scheme run by the Union ministry of education. An important study by economists Sukhdeo S. Thorat and sociologist Joel Lee in 2003 exposed the patterns of caste discrimination in mid-day meals across several states and found similar practices in the public distribution system.National Crime Records Bureau data indicates that crimes against SC communities are increasing. In 2023, 1,379 cases of rape against SC children were recorded.The infant mortality rate is 41 for SC communities and 42 for Scheduled Tribes, according to the National Family Health Survey conducted for the Union ministry of health for 2019-21. These figures compare poorly with the 28 and 34 for general and OBC groups respectively. Maternal mortality rates stand at 147 and 173 for SC and ST communities, compared with 113 and 70 for general and OBC groups. Anaemia among children aged 0-5 is reported at 70% and 72.5% for SC and ST communities, compared with 65.2% and 65% for other groups (NFHS V, 2020).This is the response of the Department of Health and Family Welfare to a question on healthcare for marginalised communities, answered in the Lok Sabha on November 29, 2024.The gross enrolment ratio in higher education is 26 for SC and 21 for ST communities, compared with a national average of 28, according to the Union government’s All-India Survey on Higher Education (2021-22). Literacy rates stand at 75% and 71% for SC and ST communities respectively, compared with a national average of 81%, finds the Periodic Labour Force Study, 2025. There is only one Vice Chancellor from an SC background across all central universities in India. These figures underline the continuing structural inequalities due to caste in our society.Fluidity and theatricsKalyan’s comments also join a longer process of moving away from affirmative action policy and social security measures for marginalised communities. He has presented himself as a champion of a casteless society, yet he has contradicted this by openly appealing to the electorate on the basis of caste affiliations, or regional sentiment. He openly appealed to his cadre to support him if they wished to see a chief minister from their own community. He nominated his brother, Nagababu, as a Member of the Legislative Council. The same individual had, in 2022, raised objections to naming a district after Dr B.R. Ambedkar in Konaseema, Andhra Pradesh.Kalyan opposes separate schools for SC and ST communities, yet supports the creation of a separate board to safeguard Sanatana Dharma. This raises questions about whether institutions are to serve people or the other way around.Within the film industry, a significant number of actors come from Kalyan’s extended family. This can be understood as an example of social capital in operation. At no point has he questioned this form of family or caste dominance within the industry. How is this contradiction to be understood? As a self-described “unapologetic” Sanatani, it is perhaps unsurprising that he does not challenge entrenched social hierarchies rather thrives and perpetuates.On the one hand, there are clear efforts to reinforce dominant caste influence across politics, party structures, society and the film industry. On the other, there is criticism of constitutional provisions as obstacles to the annihilation of caste. This position is narrow and contradictory. When those who benefit from caste hierarchies speak of annihilating caste, it resembles an inversion of responsibility. It shifts attention away from structures of power and places blame on the marginalised and on constitutional safeguards. What it achieves is a form of victimisation of those already victims from times immemorial.It is for this reason that Kalyan’s political opponents have often argued that his responses are shaped by caste considerations.Despite holding the position of deputy chief minister and serving as an MLA and minister, he continues to accept roles in films as the lead actor. This raises questions about the allocation of time and responsibility in public office. A legal case has also been filed against him by former IAS officer Vijay Kumar, founder and president of the Liberation Congress Party, in 2025 over this issue.It is worth considering how often Kalyan has portrayed themes related to caste annihilation in his films, and how many opportunities he has extended to marginalised communities within the industry. His party secured two Lok Sabha constituencies in 2024, both represented by individuals from his own caste. In the state cabinet, his party holds three ministerial positions, two of which are occupied by members of the same caste. This raises a fundamental question about the meaning and practice of caste annihilation.Much like his public persona, his political positions over the past decade have shifted frequently in response to changing political contexts, he has hitchhiked with the Left or the right and dangled between the two, and these manoeuvres have not gone unnoticed, nor without criticism.A problem cannot be resolved by ignoring its remedies. Caste will not disappear through political theatrics or rhetoric. As Ambedkar stated, caste is a disease of the mind. Dedicated educational institutions for marginalised communities form part of constitutional affirmative action measures. Their purpose is to address the structural disadvantages, violence and exclusion experienced by SC and ST communities over centuries.Way aheadIn Haryana, a Dalit IPS officer, Y. Puran Kumar, holding the rank of DIG, died by suicide in October 2025, leaving behind a widely-reported nine-page note detailing caste discrimination. In another disturbing incident, a shoe was hurled at the Chief Justice of India within his office premises. Kalyan has not issued any condemnation, despite the IPS officer being from a Telugu-speaking state. These are not isolated developments. They point to a continuing pattern in which those who benefit from caste hierarchies express resentment towards constitutional protections for marginalised communities.Historically, caste has produced assetless-ness, illiteracy, humiliation, deprivation, violence, injustice and entrenched inequality. And then it has produced clear beneficiaries of this very system. Those who benefit from it have sustained it by retaining political and economic power along with social dominance.Unless these structural inequalities are addressed, constitutional provisions will continue to provide necessary support to marginalised communities. If Kalyan opposes these provisions in principle, he is in a position to raise the matter with the Union government, led by his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and seek their removal through constitutional means.Setting aside his public positioning of himself as a guardian of dharma, a meaningful approach to the annihilation of caste would involve engaging seriously with Ambedkar’s work, particularly Annihilation of Caste, while also addressing the deep socio-economic, educational and cultural inequalities between SC/ST communities and the rest of society through effective governance.It is also worth noting the scale of these inequalities in India. Public representatives are expected to remain accessible to those large sections of the population who continue to face significant challenges.In Andhra Pradesh, which has faced considerable difficulties following bifurcation and continues to struggle in areas such as education, there is an expectation that leaders will focus on governance and public welfare. In this context, Kalyan’s continued involvement in films raises questions about priorities and responsibilities. The widely circulated incident in Kakinada – the caste-based abuse of a student by a teacher – further brought attention to this issue.Greater attention to ministerial responsibilities, particularly in rural development and Panchayati Raj, would be more constructive for his state, given the challenges it confronts. As part of the ruling alliance at the centre, there is also an expectation that he will advocate for issues such as special category status for Andhra Pradesh, completion of the long standing Polavaram irrigation project, development of the capital region and oppose the privatisation of RINL, the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.Dr Trinadh Nookathoti is Associate Professor of Economics in Central University of Karnataka.