Bihar caste census praised by underprivileged communities, reservation specialists
Other states' caste surveys dismissed as unrelated to reservation issues
The caste census conducted in Bihar has been praised by representatives of underprivileged and extremely underprivileged communities as well as reservation specialists, who have dismissed the caste surveys conducted in four other states as unrelated to reservation issues.
The caste census in Bihar included all of the state's residents, counting both the relative proportions of each caste group and each individual caste. This information is crucial for those who want the quota volumes to be updated based on population shares.
However, in order to gather information about the Other Backward Classes' total populations as well as their representation in employment and education, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra restricted their caste surveys to just those groups.
Activists told The Telegraph that while such information may be pertinent to improving welfare programs if the government so desires, it is meaningless for calculating the appropriate quota volumes for OBCs or other caste groups.
According to G. Karunanidhy, secretary of the All India OBC Employees Federation, "The Bihar survey is exceptional and should be the model for all states looking to carry out caste surveys."
"It reveals the front the forward castes have been putting up on reservations. The advanced castes, who are a minority, control the entire administrative system, Karunanidhy remarked.
According to the Bihar study, the OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) account for more than 63% of the state's population, while the non-reserved category makes for just over 15%. If a nationwide caste census is conducted as the Opposition is requesting, similar results can be anticipated elsewhere as well, especially in the heartland.
The OBCs, who at the national level also include the EBCs, currently have a quota volume of just 27%, whereas the advanced castes, which include the Economically Weaker Sections among them, have a quota volume of more than 50%.
A demand for a caste survey a la Bihar would be made, according to Karunanidhy.
"Modi himself claimed to be from a lower social level; no one had enquired about his caste history. Now, the underprivileged will call on him to carry out a nationwide caste census, raise OBC reservation, and take action to get rid of obstacles like the "creamy layer," he stated.
The survey results from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Odisha, according to Supreme Court counsel and reservation specialist Shashank Ratnoo, "are no good for any policy purpose."
According to Ratnoo, "they do not aid in a comparative analysis of the socio-economic conditions among the OBCs and others."
P.C. Patanjali, the chairman of the Most Backward Classes Forum, claimed that the Bihar data had "ignited" the EBCs in particular.
He used the words "jiski jitni sankhya bhari, utni uski bhagidari (communities deserve shares in benefits proportionate to their shares in the population)" from the famous socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia.
This catchphrase is being put into practice. Bihar has already made a move.
The OBC-only surveys in the four other states were tied to local body elections, whereas the stated goal of the caste census in Bihar was to update the state quota volumes.
The Supreme Court had ordered Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in December 2021 to establish separate commissions for a "empirical inquiry" into the effects of quota in local bodies. These states' policy of adopting OBC reservation in local body elections had been contested.
They were to outline the precise numbers of reservations needed, keeping the overall percentage at a maximum of 50%. Later, Haryana and Odisha made the decision to imitate the example.
The Narendra Modi government's position in the courts that the Centre alone is authorized to conduct a "census" that includes the entire population of a country or a state may be one reason why most states may have objected to a full-fledged caste count of their entire populations.
The Centre eventually changed its mind in the Supreme Court after Bihar encountered a legal obstacle with its caste census.
