Caste as Registration Technology and the Romani Experience: Negative Registration, Differential Registrability, and Temporal Marginalization in Algorithmic Governance

This preprint develops Registration Regime Theory (RRT) by introducing caste as a historical registration technology and examining the Romani experience as a counter-case of negative registration and differential registrability. The article conceptualizes caste as a system of ontological fixation, certification, and protection that stabilizes hierarchical social orders across generations. Building on recent work in digital governance, critical data studies, and historical sociology, the paper argues that registration regimes operate not only through inclusion but also through structured exclusion. The Romani experience is interpreted as a long-term process of registrational displacement, moving from structured hierarchical inscription in South Asia toward differential and stigmatizing forms of registration in Europe and modern states. The article introduces three new analytical concepts:(1) negative registration,(2) differential registrability, and(3) temporal marginalization. These concepts help explain how marginalized groups may be simultaneously hyper-visible as risk populations and invisible as rights-bearing subjects. The study also develops a Registrational Depth Index to measure the stability, reversibility, and contestability of registration systems. Empirically, the paper connects historical caste structures with contemporary governance, including digital identity, algorithmic welfare, predictive risk scoring, and administrative marginalization. It uses examples from Turkey and Europe to illustrate how registration infrastructures shape inequality, vulnerability, and future horizons. The article concludes by proposing a normative framework for non-stigmatizing classification, contestability, temporal safeguards, and community participation in registration systems.