'This is going to generate a new debate on reservation because the quota for Economically Weaker Sections is 10%, and that is for nearly 16% of the population.'
'For 16% you are giving 10%. This is set to raise eyebrows among the OBCs after the caste survey.'
Addressing a rally at Patahi in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Sunday, November 5, 2023, Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit A Shah accused the Nitish Kumar government of deliberately showing inflated numbers of Muslims and Yadavs in the state's caste survey as part of its 'appeasement politics' while giving the backward classes a 'raw deal' as a whole.
This was Shah's first visit to Bihar after the findings of the caste-based survey were made public on October 2, PTI reported. The survey showed that OBCs and EBCs, who are traditional supporters of the Janata Dal-United and its ally the Rashtriya Janata Dal, comprised more than 60 per cent of the state's population.
The Bihar caste survey was conducted by the state government in two phases in January 2023 and April 2023.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has made it clear that the socio economic data of the caste survey report would be placed in the state assembly during the winter session by the end of this year.
D M Diwakar, former director of the A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies in Patna, has been studying Bihar's social landscape for decades.
"Caste is a major factor in Bihar and the latest caste survey data has vindicated that majority of Biharis are from the backward castes," Diwakar tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor M I Khan in the first of a two-part interview.
As a social scientist, how you look at the caste survey?
It is a bold decision by the Mahagathbandhan government. It is bound to send a strong political message as well.
After the 2011 Census India does not have any data and this data is very important to fill up that vacuum.
It is really very important for Bihar. This latest data has revealed that the sex ratio has improved in the state.
The Mandal Commission report was also based on the 1931 caste census data. Therefore, this caste survey data is very important to revalidate social justice.
The Bihar caste survey data suggest that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) constitute 63.13 percent including 27.12 percent OBCs and 36.01 percent Economically Backward Classes (EBCs).
If you add 19.65 percent Scheduled Castes and 1.68 percent Scheduled Tribes, they together constitute a staggering 84 percent of the total population of Bihar which is 13.7 crore (137 million).
This is going to generate a new debate on reservation in terms of volume, number and percentage because the quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) is 10 percent and that is for nearly 16 percent of the population.
For 16 percent you are giving 10 percent. This matter is set to raise eyebrows among the OBCs after the caste survey.
Muslims constitute 17.7 percent and within Muslim sonly 4.6 percent is Sheikh, Syed and Pathan. The rest are backward Muslims and this is going set to start a new debate among Pasmanda Muslims (Backward Caste Muslims) and their claim for reservation.
The upper castes, which have been dominating all spheres, number 15.52%: 2.86% Bhumihars, 3.66% Brahmins, 3.65% Rajputs and 0.60% Kayasth. The remaining 4.8% are upper castes among the Muslims -- Syeds, Sheikhs, Pathans.
Why does the BJP appear uncomfortable after the caste survey was released by the Bihar government?
All should remember that the central government led by Narendra D Modi outrightly refused to conduct a caste census two years ago.
That itself reflected its motive not to reveal the exact numbers of different castes in the country's total population.
However, the Bihar government went ahead and conducted a caste survey in place of a caste-based census to collect data of the socio-economic condition of the people.
This caste survey data is very disappointing for the BJP because it hit the BJP's plan to assert Hindu identity over caste identity.
Caste is a major factor in Bihar and the latest caste survey data has vindicated that majority of Biharis are from the backward castes.
Besides, the BJP has been projecting Muslims as a monolithic community.
After the caste survey report, backward caste Muslims are among the OBCs of Hindus, so that kind of polarisation has gone away in Bihar at least.
It is difficult for the BJP to play the Muslim card; it is difficult for (MIM MP Asaduddin) Owaisi also to play the communal card.
Therefore, the caste survey data will generate a new debate. If you get data on different criteria like education, employment, social status, residential status, land holding, property, living status, economic condition and particularly income, then we have a better understanding and analysis of the survey we are looking for.
I hope this data will be released soon for a meaningful discussion for positive change.
This caste survey has various categories, but so far only the caste data has been released that revealed the population percentage of 2,015 castes in the state.
We are eagerly waiting for data on other criteria, mainly education, land holding and property, employment and economic condition of different castes to know the ground reality.
Only this data will take us to meaningful insights and new dimensions of social justice.
This data will say a lot about how much marginal and backward castes benefited from reservations and other development and welfare schemes.
Nitish Kumar explains the mathematics of the caste survey in the Bihar assembly.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
