OBCs, EBCs are 63% of population: Bihar caste survey to shake up politics

NT Bureau, Agencies

Patna: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Monday released findings of its much-awaited caste survey months ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections, which revealed that OBCs and EBCs constitute a whopping 63 per cent of the state's total population.

The data which could spur demands for similar caste-based census elsewhere is a key agenda of the opposition INDIA bloc which may well help Kumar and the alliance in the forthcoming elections in the Hindi heartland where caste politics plays a major part.

The Bihar census could up the pressure for a nationwide caste census which INDIA has been demanding to ensure justice for the deprived castes - a demand on which the Modi government has been dragging its feet.

According to the data released by Development  Singh, the state's Commissioner Vivek Singh, population stood at over 13.07 crore, out of which the Extremely Backward Classes (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the Other Backward Classes at 27.13 per cent.

Backward caste politicians have long claimed that the population of castes they represented numbered far more than the conventional wisdom based on the 1931 census, which was the last time a caste headcount was conducted and released.

The survey also stated that Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav belongs, were the largest, accounting for 14.27 per cent of the total.

Dalits, also known as the Scheduled Castes, accounted for 19.65 per cent of the total population in the state, which is also home to nearly 22 lakh (1.68 per cent) people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.

Those belonging to the “unreserved” category, which denotes the proverbial “upper castes” who dominated politics till the Mandal wave of the 1990s comprise 15.52 per cent of the total population.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "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."

RJD president Lalu Prasad issued a statement, declaring the survey will set the tone for “a nationwide caste census which will be undertaken when we form the next government at the Centre”.

That the survey would form part of the politics in the run-up to general elections was made clear by other leaders too.

"There was no regular census in 2021, while the Bihar state has managed to conduct the caste survey this year, it exposes the central government's incompetence … Muslim population has also been found to be 17.7 per cent (against 16.86 per cent in the 2011 census) which exposes the lie spread by Sanghi propaganda about infiltration by Bangladeshi Muslims," CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya told PTI.

Cong calls for pan-India survey

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi cited Bihar's demographics to argue for proportional representation.

"The Caste Census of Bihar has revealed that the OBCs, SCs and ST constitute 84% of its population. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5% of India's budget. Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. The greater the population, the greater the rights – this is our pledge," he posted on X.