India: A Dalit officer highlights caste bias in judiciary

A team of Indian delegates will visit Washington next week to hold trade talks with US authorities, according to a report by the Press Trust of India news agency which cited an anonymous official.

The meeting holds importance as the two countries have finalized the framework for an interim trade agreement.

In February, India and the US announced the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. According to that framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18%.

However, following US Supreme Court's ruling against President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, the talks between India and the US were stalled.

India has quietly abandoned its bid to host the UN's top-tier climate conference COP33, marking a shift from PM Narendra Modi's pledge in 2023. 

Read more to know what drives India's decision to withdraw its bid to host COP 33

Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar after Nitish Kumar submitted is resignation following his win in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament.

By taking oath as the CM of Bihar, Choudhary has become the first member of Prime Minister Modi's BJP to take over the top post in the state.

Stock indices rose about 1.6% early on Wednesday, as renewed hopes of a lasting US–Iran peace deal lifted global market sentiment.

The National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Nifty 50 crossed the 24,000-point mark and is up 1.6% at 24,216.95 points, the India Express news website reported.

The BSE’s Sensex index was up 1.6% at 78,091.34 points.

The gains followed reports that the US and Iran could restart peace talks in Pakistan later this week, after a first fruitless round.

US President Donald Trump has held a phone call with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, as the US maintained its naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas.

Modi said that during the 40-minutes long call, they "discussed the situation" in the Middle East "and stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure."

This was the first conversation between the two leaders after the US and Iran announced a conditional ceasefire last week.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor described it as a "very positive and productive call!"

Gopal*, a young judicial officer in north India, says caste continues to shape both formal and informal aspects of the judiciary, influencing recruitment, workplace interactions and career progression.

"They work with the presumption that I am not as knowledgeable and hard-working as my upper-caste peers," he told DW. Gopal is from the Dalit community.

He said that although Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates often perform strongly in written exams, many are graded lower in interviews, affecting their final rankings. These rankings determine promotions, postings and additional responsibilities, reinforcing long-term disparities.

Dalits, classified as Scheduled Castes under India's Constitution, have historically faced marginalization within the caste system. They make up about 16.6% of the population, according to the 2011 census, and are entitled to affirmative action measures such as quotas in education and public employment.

Caste bias in workplace

Beyond recruitment, Gopal said caste dynamics remain visible in everyday professional settings.

Informal conversations often include expressions of caste pride, while social networks and marriages within the judiciary largely follow caste lines. He added that questions about his missing surname are often aimed at identifying his caste.

"The judges' association election was fought on the basis of caste. It's everywhere if you pay attention to it, but nowhere if you don't," he said.

While legal safeguards against caste discrimination exist, Gopal said their impact is limited in professional spaces.

He believes there is scope for affirmative action, suggesting:

• extending caste-based reservations to promotions
• creating institutional mechanisms, similar to workplace harassment bodies, to address caste-related grievances

Gopal added that caste discrimination has evolved rather than disappeared.

"The practice of untouchability has changed form," he said, citing workplace practices such as food-based segregation and continued emphasis on endogamy and caste identity.

“Overall, they have successfully replicated the caste system in the service. I do not see much change in the coming decades,” he said.

*name has been changed to protect the interviewee's identity

This feature is a part of DW's special coverage of Dr BR Ambedkar's 135th birth anniversary and Dalit History Month.

Hi!

This is Shakeel from DW's New Delhi Studio, bringing you our special coverage on Dr BR Ambedkar’s 135th birth anniversary and Dalit History Month.

Our coverage examines the idea of the upliftment of the Dalit community — a historically marginalized group at the lowest level of India's centuries-old caste hierarchy — versus the reality today.

Additionally, this blog will bring you the top news from India today, so stay tuned for all the latest updates.