Will the Indian system be reformed ?

 

Will the Indian Social System Be Reformed?

— V. R. Ajith Kumar

The news we hear every day—news that isolates us emotionally and wounds us deeply—raises serious concerns about the future of Indian society. While there is constant celebration of India’s emergence as an economic powerhouse, we must also confront an uncomfortable truth: in many respects, our social system appears to be moving backward. Two recent incidents from Telangana and Tamil Nadu compel us to reflect on this disturbing reality.

Kakani Jyoti Saravanan, a native of Biranguda in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, belonged to an upper-caste family and had lost his parents at a young age. The 19-year-old was a second-year student at St. Peter’s Engineering College in Shankarpally, Telangana. He had been in love since Class 10 with Thuppalli Teja, a girl from a backward caste. Despite strong opposition from both families, their relationship continued.

On December 9, 2025, Teja invited Saravanan to her house, saying her parents wished to speak with him. When he arrived, her mother, Sreeja, forbade her from meeting him, leading to a heated argument between mother and daughter. The situation escalated violently when Sreeja struck her daughter with a cricket bat. Saravanan intervened to protect Teja, but he was then brutally attacked—hit repeatedly on the head and stomach with the same bat.

Leaving him severely injured, Sreeja took her daughter to the hospital. Saravanan lay unattended throughout the night. Only when he was on the verge of death did Sreeja and her family admit him to a hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries. The haunting question that arises is this: can a country where such caste-driven tragedies continue to occur ever truly become a developed society?

Another shocking incident took place in Tenkasi. Kovindaraj, the husband of Uma, a 31-year-old woman residing on Mathakovil Street, mortgaged his mother-in-law’s house in 2020 and borrowed ₹5 lakh from a blade company owner named Mahendran at an exorbitant interest rate. In 2022, when Kovindaraj attempted to repay the principal and interest and reclaim the house, Mahendran refused.

Elders of the locality intervened and proposed a settlement of ₹8.5 lakh, but Mahendran remained unyielding. He went further by threatening Uma at her workplace and even disconnecting the electricity supply to her home. As the harassment continued relentlessly, Uma, mentally exhausted and broken, made a tragic decision—to end her life along with her nine-year-old son.

In this heartbreaking episode, Uma died after attempting suicide, while her son was left in critical condition. Such recurring tragedies force us to ask how India can hope to become a developed nation by 2047 if this is the state of our social and institutional systems.

Will a time come when the police, the legal system, and the political establishment take such grave social injustices seriously? Only then can our country truly earn the right to be called “developed.” 🙏