Power

Who holds power in politics, courts, media and money, and how caste decides it.

Elections & Parties

Story

The BSP’s vote: 2.1% of the Lok Sabha vote in 1989, 6.2% in 2009 and 2.1% in 2024; in Uttar Pradesh’s assembly, 30.4% at its peak in 2007

How have the Bahujan Samaj Party’s votes and seats changed, across India and in Uttar Pradesh?

Updated 11 Oct 2026

Exhibit 1

The BSP’s share of the Lok Sabha vote rose from 2.1% in 1989 to 6.2% in 2009, and fell to 2.1% in 2024

Bahujan Samaj Party votes as a share of all valid votes polled in India, %, at each general election to the Lok Sabha, 1989 to 2024.

Source: Election Commission of India, statistical reports of the general elections to the Lok Sabha: 1989 to 2004, “Votes polled by parties: national summary”; 2009 to 2024, “Performance of national parties”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.
6.2%BSP share of the Lok Sabha vote in 2009, its highest in the elections shown206 of 403Uttar Pradesh assembly seats the BSP won in 2007, of those it contested

Tracker

What Parliament asks about Dalits: 270 of 34,720 Lok Sabha questions named SCs or Dalits

How many questions in the Lok Sabha concern Scheduled Castes, on what subjects, and which ministries answer them?

Updated 9 Oct 2026

Exhibit 1

270 of the 34,720 questions answered in the 18th Lok Sabha from July 2024 to August 2026 (0.8%) named Scheduled Castes or Dalits in their title

Questions whose title names SCs or Dalits, as a share of all questions answered in each session, %. 18th Lok Sabha, sessions 2 to 8.

  1. 0.7%Session 222 Jul 2024 to 9 Aug 2024
  2. 0.7%Session 325 Nov 2024 to 20 Dec 2024
  3. 0.6%Session 43 Feb 2025 to 4 Apr 2025
  4. 1.3%Session 521 Jul 2025 to 21 Aug 2025
  5. 0.7%Session 61 Dec 2025 to 18 Dec 2025
  6. 0.6%Session 729 Jan 2026 to 2 Apr 2026
  7. 0.8%Session 820 Jul 2026 to 12 Aug 2026
Source: Lok Sabha eLibrary, records of every question answered in the 18th Lok Sabha, 22 Jul 2024 to 12 Aug 2026; our count of titles by the rule under Methods. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.
270of 34,720 Lok Sabha questions named SCs or Dalits, July 2024 to August 20260.8%share of all questions in the 18th Lok Sabha

Media

Story

Who tells the story: 191 of 218 newsroom leaders in a 2022 count were general category

Who holds the top jobs and the anchors’ chairs in Indian news media, by caste, as Oxfam India and Newslaundry’s survey counted them?

Updated 12 Oct 2026

191 of 218newsroom leadership positions held by general-category journalists, April 2021 to March 2022 (survey, Oxfam India and Newslaundry)3.17%of leadership positions held by SC journalists across the media studied, 2022 (survey)

Bench & Bureaucracy

Tracker

Who judges: 33 of 849 High Court judges appointed since 2018 are SC

Of the judges appointed to the High Courts since 2018, how many are from Scheduled Castes?

Updated 9 Oct 2026

Exhibit 1

Of the 849 High Court judges appointed from 2018 to 9 March 2026, 33 (3.9%) declared themselves Scheduled Caste

SC judges as a share of all High Court judges appointed since 2018, %, at each date the government gave the Lok Sabha a count, from 31 Dec 2022 to 9 Mar 2026.

Source: Ministry of Law and Justice, answers in the Lok Sabha, 17 March 2023 to 20 March 2026 (18 answers, listed under Sources); counts as the recommendees declared them. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.
33 of 849High Court judges appointed since 2018 declared themselves SC, to 9 Mar 20263.9%SC share of High Court judges appointed since 2018