In July, The Hindu’s data team published a story that revealed major disparities in the admission rate of PhD candidates from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other backward classes backgrounds. Data released by the Lok Sabha found that in nine IITs, across India, the acceptance rate for SC/ST/OBC PhD candidates was at or below 8%, despite all of these universities receiving hundreds of applications. This is happening despite having reservations in place. What is going on behind the scenes at India’s top universities and how did this kind of structural and systemic form of discrimination ferment itself into higher education? This is the first episode of a two-part series, examining this caste-based discrimination, and the impact it has.