1st sitting of Bihar House since release of caste survey to commence on Nov 6

The five-day winter session of the Bihar assembly will begin on November 6. This will be the 1st sitting of the House since the caste survey results were released this month.

A few days after chief minister Nitish Kumar announced that the educational and socioeconomic data of the survey would be presented in the House, a notification for the session was issued on Monday. Kumar evaded a query regarding the potential expansion of the reservation area. Kumar added that he would refrain from commenting until the survey results were presented to the House. “Everyone will be heard, and we will then determine our next course of action.” Preceding the government’s actions, I am unable to provide any commentary on the matter.

The survey results, which were made public on October 2 subsequent to the conclusion of an exercise, have the potential to disrupt the political landscape of the heartland and bring caste to the forefront of discussions in advance of the 2024 national elections.

Many predicted that the exercise would incite another political upheaval, which they referred to as the “second Mandal moment.” Countering the Bharatiya Janata Party’s mobilization of less-dominant backward and Dalit communities under a broader Hindu umbrella, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, which comprises the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) of Bihar, has advocated for a nationwide caste census.

Incorporating leaders from marginalized castes into its ranks has helped the BJP dispel the notion that it was previously preoccupied with its traditional voter base, the upper castes.

According to the survey results, it was anticipated that the ruling alliance in Bihar would suggest an increase in the quota for marginalized castes in educational institutions and employment that is proportional to their population.

For the first time since independence, the survey conducted a physical government census that enumerated all castes. It also revealed that backward communities constitute approximately two-thirds of the population of Bihar.

In the decennial census of India, only Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are enumerated.

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Extremely backward communities (ECB), which comprised 112 castes, comprised 36.01 percent of the population, according to the survey, while disadvantaged castes (30 communities) constituted an additional 27.12 percent. The state’s other backward classes (OBC), which encompass backward castes and EBCs, comprise 63.13 percent of the total population. ST is 1.68% and SC is 19.65%.