1990sTHEN: Rajiv Goswami, a student at Delhi University, sets himself ablaze during protests against caste-based job reservations recommended by the Mandal CommissionNOW: Even as state governments increase caste-based reservations in jobs and education to appease various communities, the Telangana government is setting up a university exclusively for Dalit studentsImage by Raveendran/ AFP / Getty Images
2000sTHEN: Delhi High Court scraps a colonial-era law that criminalised homosexuality in IndiaNOW: The Kinnar Akhara, comprising transgender sadhus, including LGBTQ leader Laxmi Tripathi, takes a holy dip in the Ganga during Kumbh Mela, to reclaim the position held by the community in HinduismImage by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images
2010sTHEN: Isro’s successful Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) proves the country’s space capabilitiesNOW: Academics at an Indian Scientific Congress Association event claim that India’s mythological stories aren’t fiction, and that “we had 100 Kauravas from one mother because of stem cell and test tube technology”Image by Pallava Bagla/ Corbis Via Getty Images
