On January 29, the Supreme Court stayed the University Grants Commission (UGC) Equity Regulations, 2026, new anti-discrimination rules aimed at tackling caste bias in higher education, saying their wording was ‘vague and could be misused’.
The court ordered that the older 2012 UGC regulations continue until the issues are resolved and asked the UGC and government to revisit the draft ahead of a hearing scheduled for March 19. This halt followed widespread protests and legal challenges arguing the new rules could exclude general-category students and deepen social divisions.
In the above context, an image of a barely attended public meeting is being widely shared on social media. A large saffron banner behind the dais has the text ‘Hindu Sammellan’ (Hindu Conference) in Hindi.
A social media user shared the image with a caption suggesting that it shows people from the Dalit community boycotting the Hindu Conference after the Supreme Court’s order on UGC guidelines. The text embedded on the image reads, “Follow In the name of Hindu Conference, the indigenous people distanced themselves from the Brahmin Conference. The indigenous people of India (Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, untouchable) will no longer fall prey to the conspiracy of the Brahmins. Wake up and awaken others.”
A social media user shared the image with a caption that reads, “We saw the effect of UGC.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral image is AI-generated.
To verify the truth behind the viral image claiming a boycott of a Hindu conference, we searched for it using Google Lens. However, we did not find the viral image in any credible media reports.
We did come across several reports mentioning Hindu conferences held in different parts of the country, but the viral image was not present in those news stories.
On closely examining the image, we noticed certain inconsistencies that are commonly found in AI-generated visuals. For example, on one side of the stage, chairs have been arranged for people to sit, while on the other side of the same stage, a mat has been spread out on the ground. Such an arrangement is generally not seen in such conference venues.
To confirm our suspicion, we also checked the image using the AI image detection tool, Sight Engine, and found that the viral image is 99 per cent AI-generated.
Therefore, we conclude that the claim is false.