India will include caste data in its next national census, a move that could reshape the country’s policies on affirmative action and political representation. ⁠
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The caste system, a rigid social hierarchy dating back over two millennia, has long shaped access to power, education, and economic opportunity—especially among Hindus. ⁠
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While independent India abolished caste-based discrimination in law, it preserved affirmative action quotas for historically disadvantaged groups. However, comprehensive caste data has not been collected since 1931, leaving major gaps in understanding the current distribution of caste identities.⁠
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Critics of caste data collection say it risks deepening divisions, but supporters argue that updated demographic information is essential to measure the impact and fairness of existing reservations. India currently reserves 27% of government jobs and university seats for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), but the total quota is capped at 50%.⁠
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The next census, originally scheduled for 2021, has been delayed by the pandemic. ⁠
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The Trump administration has admitted 49 white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees, citing “government-sponsored racial discrimination,” according to a senior State Department official. ⁠
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Most of the group are Afrikaners from farming communities. President Donald Trump ordered their resettlement through an executive action titled “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa,” claiming they face violence and economic exclusion. ⁠
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The move comes amid an ongoing dispute over South Africa’s land reform efforts. In 2017, an audit found that white South Africans—who make up about 7% of the population—own roughly 75% of individually held farmland.⁠
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A 2025 law allows limited expropriation without compensation, which the Trump administration framed as targeting whites. South African officials say the policy is intended to address the legacy of apartheid, during which the Afrikaner-led government denied Black South Africans land rights, political representation, and basic freedoms under a formal system of racial segregation that lasted from 1948 to 1994.⁠
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South Africa’s government rejected Trump’s refugee designation, calling the persecution claims “completely false” and politically motivated. “There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans,” said Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola. ⁠
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Critics in the U.S., including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, questioned why this group was prioritized while refugee programs for people fleeing war and famine remain suspended. ⁠
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The Associated Press and four other media organizations have filed a federal lawsuit challenging an Indiana law that bars journalists from witnessing executions. ⁠
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The suit argues that excluding media from the execution of Benjamin Ritchie, scheduled for May 20, violates the First Amendment and deprives the public of an independent account of how the death penalty is carried out. Kristopher Cundiff of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said, “It’s about having a representative standing in the shoes of the public to provide an account of what happened that comes from a neutral party.”⁠
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Indiana is one of only two states that prohibit media access to executions. The law permits attendance by victims’ family members and people selected by the condemned but excludes journalists. ⁠
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Plaintiffs argue this unequal treatment undermines transparency and fails to meet constitutional standards. The AP, which has long reported on executions nationwide, says its ability to provide accurate coverage is hindered by this restriction.⁠
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Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared open to allowing a Catholic virtual school in Oklahoma to operate as a publicly funded charter school. ⁠
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The proposed school, St. Isidore of Seville, would be the first religious charter school in the country. A lower court previously blocked its creation, citing the First Amendment’s establishment clause. ⁠
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Justice Sonia Sotomayor challenged the legality of public funds going to religious instruction, saying, “We’re not going to pay religious leaders to teach their religion.”⁠
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The case pits the Constitution’s two religion clauses against each other. Lawyers for the state and for St. Isidore argued that blocking the school violated the free exercise clause, noting the school is privately organized and not an extension of the government. ⁠
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Oklahoma’s top court had ruled the school would act as a state surrogate, and thus could not incorporate religious teaching while receiving public funds.⁠
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Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch questioned whether excluding the school would constitute religious discrimination, while Chief Justice ⁠
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John Roberts pointed to prior rulings allowing religious groups to participate in public services. The court’s ruling, expected by June, could reshape how states handle religion in publicly funded education.⁠
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