Bihar Caste-Based Survey Results Out, OBCs Constitute 63% Population, Hindus 81%, Muslims 17%

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 2: The results of the caste survey which is likely to stir up a political row demanding higher reservation for the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (Other Backward Classes (OBCs), including the “Extremely Backward Classes” constitute over 63 per cent of the total 13.1 crore population of Bihar.

The caste-based survey report released on the occasion of the Gandhi Jayanti Day on Monday, indicated that 36 per cent of the population are from Extremely Backward Classes, 27.1 per cent are from Backward Classes, 19.7 per cent are from Scheduled Castes and 1.7 per cent are from Scheduled Tribes. The general population was 15.5 per cent of the state’s total population of over 13.1 crore.

While the chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and its alliance partners Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other parties welcomed the survey report and the chief minister assured that the future developmental programmes would be drawn taking note of the survey data, the BJP national leadership contradicted the party’s state unit in reacting on the survey report.

Even as the state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary partly took credit for the caste-based survey saying that the “BJP had given full support to this survey” and claimed work on it had begun back when it was still allied with the JDU,” the union minister Giriraj Singh termed the survey a “mere eyewash” and said instead of the caste-based survey report the Bihar government should have published the fact-sheet of performances of the JD(U) and the RJD governments in the state.

Mr Nitish Kumar said the publication of the report has coincided with Gandhi Jayanti and congratulated the survey team for its work. On what comes next, he said a meeting of the nine political parties in Bihar Assembly, including the BJP, who had unanimously voted in support of the survey, would be called soon, and they would be informed about the findings of the survey. “The caste survey has also provided information about the economic condition of various castes. Steps will be taken for the development of all communities on the basis of this data,” he said in a post on X.

Mr Kumar said “it’s only a compiled data and no analysis of it has been done yet,” while his Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav termed the occasion as a “historic moment.”

The report which only revealed the caste composition in the State said the Other Backward Class (OBC) population in the State is 27.1286% while, the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) comprises 36.0148%. The Scheduled Caste population in Bihar is at 19.6518% while the Scheduled Tribe population is 1.6824% even as the General Caste population stands at 15.5224%. The report also revealed that Hindus comprise 81.9986% of the population while the Muslim share is at 17.7088%.

The survey report, titled Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana (Bihar caste based survey), has also said that total population in the state is 13 crore. Among the Other Backward Class group, Yadavs is the largest sub-group, accounting for 14.27 per cent of all OBC categories, while the Kushwaha and Kurmi castes forms 4.27% and 2.87% respectively.

The caste survey had 17-point socio-economic indicators, including caste. It was completed in a three phased exercise in August this year with around 2.64 lakh enumerators documenting the details of 29 million registered households. The 214 castes mentioned in the survey were allotted different individual codes.

The report’s fallout, which will almost certainly kick-up a political row, will likely also include calls to increase quotas for OBCs, which is capped now at 27 per cent. According to the data – released months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, they are now 63.1 per cent of the state. The report underlines the numerical superiority and electoral influence of OBCs in Bihar.

The JD(U) said the Bihar government had “created history,” Tejashwi Yadav called the report a “watershed” moment and the result of “decades of struggle.” “Now both the policies and intentions of the government will respect (this) data…” he said. Mr Yadav’s father and party boss Lalu Prasad Yadav said, “Despite many conspiracies of the BJP, legal hurdles and all the conspiracies, today Bihar government released caste-based survey (data).”

In August, after the exercise was completed, Mr Kumar stressed the survey will be “beneficial for all” and “enable the development of various sections of society, including the deprived.” Also in August, when pressed on some political parties opposing the caste-based headcount, the Chief Minister said the exercise had been ordered with the support of all state parties. This cross-party support, he indicated then, included the BJP.

The opposition has pressed the centre for a national caste-based survey or headcount, and this has been announced as a key demand of the mega INDIA bloc; at present, though, there are also divisions within the group on this count after the Trinamool Congress raised objections.

Rahul Gandhi, whose party is a member of INDIA, last week said the Congress would implement a similar exercise should they win the Madhya Pradesh election likely in November.

The decision to conduct a caste survey was taken by the Bihar government in June last year and the release of this data comes as the Supreme Court continues to hear petitions challenging the Patna High Court’s Order calling the exercise “perfectly valid” and refused an interim stay unless critics made out a prima facie case.

The Bihar Government launched the two-phase caste survey on January 7. The survey recorded the economic status of families alongside their caste, and has collected socio-economic data for a population of 12.70 crore in the 38 districts of Bihar. The Union Government in 2011 had undertaken a survey of castes through the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 (SECC-2011). However, the data was never made public.

RJD founder and former Chief Minister Lalu Yadav said “These figures will set a benchmark for the country in giving representation to deprived and oppressed sections and the poor as per their population and to make policies for their development,” he posted on X.

The central government, Mr Yadav said, should ensure that sections of the society get a share in development as per their numbers. “We will get a caste Census done when we form the government in 2024,” said the RJD leader, who is among the prominent faces in the Opposition’s INDIA bloc that plans to take on the BJP in the general election next year. The findings, which come months ahead of the general election, will also emerge as a key talking point in the run-up to the polls.