‘If caste assertion continues, people who call themselves Hindus will cease to exist…’: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Court took suo motu cognisance of an incident from Damoh district, where a person from OBC community was forced to wash the feet of an upper caste man for allegedly sharing an AI-generated meme
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed that “repeated instances of caste-related violence and discriminative actions in the state are shocking”, and that if caste assertion continues unchecked, “people who call themselves Hindus will cease to exist within a century and a half”.
The court made the observation on October 14 while taking suo motu cognisance of an October 11 incident from Damoh district, where a person from the OBC community was allegedly humiliated by upper caste villagers and forced to wash a man’s feet for allegedly sharing an AI-generated meme.
The Bench, comprising Justices Atul Sreedharan and Pradeep Mittal, also took a stern view of the sections invoked by the police in the case and directed them and the district administration to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against all those visible in the video of the incident.
“This is the same state where a person of the general category urinated on the head of a tribal person, and to placate whom, the then chief minister washed the feet of the victim. Caste identities are on the rise. Every community, frequently and shamelessly flaunts its caste identity to the detriment of the entire Hindu Society,” the court observed.
“Each caste has become vociferous and ultra conscious of its caste identity and leaves no measure unturned to demonstrate his/her pride of belonging to a particular caste,” it said. “This is giving rise to several instances of caste violence. The victims in most cases are the least literate and most impoverished economically. The incident of the shoe being thrown at the Chief Justice of India, the suicide committed by a Senior Additional Director General of Police in Haryana, are instances of such caste-related issues gaining prominence in this country,” the court observed.
The court said that if “one is unfortunate to follow social media or (if one) reads the newspaper, the Hindu is conspicuous by his absence”.
“Persons refer to themselves as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, each asserting their independent identity. At this stage, if things are unchecked, within a century and a half, the people who call themselves Hindus will cease to exist, fighting amongst themselves,” the court said.
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The court said it “would not usually have directed the police to proceed against these accused people under the National Security Act as that’s a matter of executive discretion”.
“However, the delay in acting in that direction and the resentment that is being caused within the people of the community from which the victim hails, if action is not taken urgently and immediately, situations may lead to violence, where police action thereafter would become ineffective with public order being disturbed,” the court said.
It observed that “before this evil symphony of caste acrimony and discrimination reaches its crescendo, the police and the administration of Damoh are directed to forthwith proceed against all those persons under the NSA (in addition to the FIR), who are visible in the video and whose identity can be ascertained, who were there in the temple surrounding the victim and compelling him to do the act”. Police have since invoked the NSA.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
