“I always wanted to be a writer. A writer of science, like Carl Sagan.” Rohith Vemula wrote these words days before his death on Jan 17, 2016. Ten years later, they remain a reminder of what Indian universities failed to recognise: not only a student marked by caste, but a young mind with intellectual aspirations that the system could neither nurture nor protect. In the decade since Rohith’s death, higher education has undergone visible reform. Universities now have anti-discrimination rules, grievance committees, and equity offices, which have been shaped by moral pressure and judicial scrutiny. On paper, the system appears far more responsive than it did in 2016. Yet a harder question remains largely unexamined: have these reforms changed how universities think and teach, or only how they manage complaints?