Bihar Caste Data Highlights Need to Revise Creamy Layer Criteria and Implement EWS Quota, Say Activists

The Narendra Modi government's delay in revising the non-creamy layer criteria for Other Backward Classes and implementing the 10% quota for the impoverished among the forward castes has come under scrutiny as a result of the caste statistics that the Bihar government disclosed.

Rights organizations like the Jangid Brahmin Mahasabha (JBM) and the Most Backward Classes Forum (MBCF) have also questioned why succeeding governments have not acted on a three-decade-old order to identify the artisan castes and remove them from the purview of the creamy layer, considering their social backwardness regardless of their income.

The Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) make up 36% of the OBC population in Bihar, according to caste data.

OBCs are given a 27% reservation by the federal government for employment and enrollment in institutions with federal funding. Candidates from the creamy layer, however, are not given any quota advantages. People who hold constitutional positions and people who are immediately hired as Group-A officers automatically belong in the top layer, according to a 1993 government order.

The order specified an income-wealth requirement for others. To be eligible for quota benefits and to be excluded from the creamy layer, a family's other income, excluding salaries and earnings from agriculture, must fall below a certain level. The cap is currently Rs 8 lakh and must be updated every three years. The most recent revision took place in 2017.

The 1993 ruling further stipulated that in order to be exempt from the creamy layer's jurisdiction, the artisan communities had to be recognized and notified. This identification has not been carried out thus far.

The AIOBCEF's secretary, G. Karunanidhy, stated that the creamy layer income requirement was last changed in September 2017, when the barrier was increased from Rs 6 lakh. A. Narayanaswamy, a minister of state for social justice, responded to a question in the Lok Sabha in February of this year by saying the current standard was adequate.

According to the Bihar government's data, 63% of the population is classified as an OBC. The OBCs make up the largest percentage of the population nationwide as well. However, they are hardly ever represented in top government positions. This is a result of the non-creamy layer's criteria being set too low. The criterion is not being altered, despite our several letters to that effect," Karunanidhy claimed.

The government established an expert team to review the creamy layer criterion prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The committee recommended raising the cap to Rs. 12 lakh and including salary income in the calculation of family income. There hasn't yet been a decision made.

The 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among the general category, according to Supreme Court counsel and reservation expert Shashank Ratnoo, would be called into question given that the Bihar survey reveals that they make up barely 15% of the population.

"Only 15% of the population is given a 10% quota, whereas 85% of people who belong to OBCs, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes are given a 50% quota. We'll question this irrationality," Ratnoo stated.

He claimed that the government would have to abandon its plan to modify the creamy layer standards to include salary income.

The MBCF's chairman, Prof. P.C. Patanjali, claimed that the Bihar data had highlighted the EBCs. He insisted that the castes of artisans be informed by the government.

"The EBCs will anticipate seriousness from the government in implementing the sub-categorization of OBCs. The Rohini Commission report is already in the hands of the government. The BJP should put that report into practice in order to contain the damage, Patanjali added. The commission was established to make recommendations regarding how the sub-quotas for the OBC reservation of 27% should be divided. The report is not yet available to the public.

After the Bihar survey, according to Sanjay Harshwal of the JBM, a countrywide caste census must be done.

"A caste census needs to be carried out by the national government. The reservation policy needs to be reviewed in light of the national and state-level caste data. Only after a caste census at the national level, according to Harshwal, can those who haven't had the chance to pursue employment or education, hope to integrate into society.