 "What did the Bihar caste survey reveal?")
Bihar’s total population stands at just over 13.07 crore – 63 per cent of which are made up of Other Backward Classes and Extremely Backward Classes. Meanwhile, Yadavs, which deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs to, account for 14 per cent of the population. Those were just some of the highlights of the much-awaited caste survey, entitled the Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana, from the state government. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tweeted:
आज गांधी जयंती के शुभ अवसर पर बिहार में कराई गई जाति आधारित गणना के आंकड़े प्रकाशित कर दिए गए हैं। जाति आधारित गणना के कार्य में लगी हुई पूरी टीम को बहुत-बहुत बधाई !
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) October 2, 2023
जाति आधारित गणना के लिए सर्वसम्मति से विधानमंडल में प्रस्ताव पारित किया गया था।…
Kumar praised the officials who carried out the exercise. He added, “A meeting will soon be convened of all the nine political parties with an electoral presence in the state legislature and the facts and figures will be shared with them.” But what is the caste survey? How is it different from a census? What do these results mean? And why do they matter politically? Let’s take a closer look: What is a caste survey? How is it different from the Census? There has been a furore over the caste survey and its difference – or lack thereof – from the Census right from its inception. First, let’s take a brief look at the Census. India’s Census has its origins in way back in 1881 – when the British carried out a colonial exercise. A Census, which is carried out every 10 years, basically provides a snapshot of the Indian population. It is a tool used by the government, policymakers, academics, and others to, among other things, gain a better understanding of citizens, their makeup, the resources they have available, understand social and societal change and carry out delimitation exercises. It was described as “a large, immensely powerful, but blunt instrument unsuited for specialized inquiry” by the 1941 Census Commissioner for India WWM Yeatts.
The last Census was carried out in 2011.
The next Census, which was supposed to be carried out in 2021, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As of now, the date for the next Census remains uncertain. A caste survey, on the other hand, refers to tabulating the population of all of India’s castes mainly OBCs. Till 1931, the Census actually gathered data relating to caste. However, in 1941, the data, while collected, remained unpublished. Yeats at the time the Census commissioner was quoted as saying “There would have been no all-India caste table… The time is past for this enormous and costly table as part of the central undertaking…” Since 1951, India has only collected caste data on Dalits and Adivasis. India in the 1952 census published its first separate data on Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). It has since continued to publish data on SCs and STs.
The last caste survey was conducted under the UPA government at the Centre in 2011.
However, in what has since become the subject of much controversy, its details were never made public. [caption id=“attachment_13195232” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational Image/PTI[/caption] The Centre in 2018 said this was because “certain errors have been observed during the processing of caste data.” The Bihar government ordered the caste survey last year after the BJP-led Narendra Modi government at the Centre made it clear that it would not be able to undertake a headcount of castes other than SCs and STs as part of the upcoming Census. The caste survey kicked off in January – only for a clutch of petitions to be filed against it in the Patna high court. In August, the Centre told the Supreme Court that only it is allowed to conduct a census. The Centre contended that this is because the subject falls under the Constitution’s Union list. The Centre’s affidavit read, “No other body under the Constitution or otherwise is entitled to conduct the exercise of either census or any action akin to census.” However, the Centre later modified its affidavit to read, “Census is a statutory process governed by the Census Act of 1948, which was enacted in the exercise of the powers under Entry 69 of List I of the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule and that the said Act empowers only the Central Government to conduct the Census.” It further said, “In exercise of the powers under the said Entry, the Central Government has made the Census Act, 1948. The said Act empowers only the Central Government to conduct the census under section 3 of the Census Act, 1948…” Section 3 of the Census Act states: “The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare its intention of taking a census in the whole or any part of the territories to which this Act extends, whenever it may consider it necessary or desirable so to do, and thereupon the census shall be taken.” Kumar, meanwhile, has been at pains to insist that a caste survey is not the same as a Census. “It is the Central government’s duty to conduct a census, we only want to conduct a survey in the state. Census is what is done at the Centre level and we cant do that. We want to gather financial information about the different people irrespective of any caste, rich or poor, Hindu or Muslim living in the state so that, we can work for their welfare," Kumar was previously quoted as saying by Livemint. His deputy Tejashwi Kumar added, “We don’t want a caste census, it is a caste-based survey. The caste census is the union government’s right as per the constitution… This will give us the numbers, and we will get scientific data. And we will also do an economic survey. Because what we believe is that people are poor in every section. We will come up with schemes after we know where the poverty is and benefit them. How can we decide whom to get a reservation if we don’t know the economic conditions…” However, some argue that the caste survey is just a Census by another name. What has the survey revealed? According to the data released by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, Other Backward Classes comprise 27 per cent of the state populace, while Extremely Backward Classes make up 36 per cent of the total populace. Meanwhile, Scheduled Castes comprise 19.65 per cent of the total population, while Scheduled Tribes or Adivasis make up just 1.68 per cent of the populace. Those belonging to the “unreserved” category, which denotes the proverbial “upper castes” who dominated politics till the Mandal wave of 1990s, comprise 15.52 per cent of the total population. The survey also establishes that the state’s population is overwhelmingly Hindu, with the majority community comprising 81.99 per cent of the total population, followed by Muslims (17.70 per cent). Christians, Sikhs, Jains and those following other religions as also the non-believers have a miniscule presence, together making up for less than one per cent of the total population. Why is this important? Because of the subject of reservation. A caste-based census could ultimately result in challenging the formula used to allot quotas to communities. As per India Today, while SCs have 15 per cent reservation in government jobs, while STs get 7 per cent and OBCs 22 per cent. Though the first two were assigned percentages that reflected their share of the population, OBCs were given the 22 per cent figure to ensure that reservation does not exceed the 50 per cent cap as mandated by the Supreme Court.
The report also noted that no one knows exactly how many OBCs there are across the country.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“The Mandal Commission had estimated the OBC population at 52 per cent…The NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) surveys have provided different estimates between 1999 and 2007, varying from about 36 per cent to 45 per cent for OBCs…The UDISE+ [United District Information System for Education Plus] data show OBC children comprise 45 per cent students in primary schools,” the report states. As per Outlook, some have thus argued that a proper measurement of the OBC population needs to be undertaken either in states or across India in order for the Centre or state governments to better their lives and prospects. Some have also argued that certain communities are, relative to their population, constantly underrepresented in many spheres of life – which needs to be remedied. What about the political angle? Now, here’s where it gets really interesting.
All the political parties in Bihar including the state BJP have been demanding a caste-based survey.
Meanwhile, the Centre, as mentioned earlier, had opposed it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, responding to the Bihar government releasing the caste survey, accused the Opposition of ‘trying to divide the nation’. “They played with emotions of the poor back then… and even today they are playing the same game. Earlier they divided the country in the name of caste… and today they are committing the same sin. Earlier they were guilty of corruption… and today they are even more corrupt,” Modi was quoted as saying by NDTV. As per The Times of India, the BJP-led Centre has been antagonistic to the caste-based survey as it fears a challenge ahead of the 2024 polls. Rahul Gandhi, in a turn of events, has now dared the Centre to release the results of the caste survey conducted by the UPA government in 2011. Many see the caste survey as a triumph for Kumar, who as one recalls, snapped ties with BJP a year ago and played an instrumental role in bringing various opposition parties together to form the INDIA bloc. A piece in Indian Express contended that the survey and its results would likely strengthen Kumar’s image as the saviour of the EBCs, OBCs and Mahadalits. A senior leader of the Janata Dal (United) told the Indian Express, “Rahul Gandhi is today going around the country speaking about caste census. But Nitish Kumar raised it three years ago, followed it up with action, fought a court battle and got it done. As the champion of the extremely backward castes and non-Yadav OBCs, it puts him leaps ahead of other leaders in the Hindi heartland. This message is not just going to impact Bihar but even percolate to UP in the context of the 2024 polls.” The piece noted that while Kumar is not the prime focus of the INDIA bloc, he may yet ‘find himself back again in the thick of things’ and underscore his continued political relevance. With inputs from agencies
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