Context

• Recently, the Bihar government released the results of its survey of castes in the state which put the share of Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) cumulatively at more than 63%.
• The survey, which has highlighted the exact caste breakup of Bihar, has far-reaching implications on policy making and politics. 

Findings of Bihar Caste Survey

• Forward castes: According to the survey data (released by the state Development Commissioner), the so-called forward castes or General category is only 15.5%of the total population (13.07 Cr).
• SCs and STs: There are about 20% (2.6 crore) Scheduled Castes (SCs), and just 1.7% (22 lakh) Scheduled Tribes (STs).
• Minorities: Muslims comprise 17.7% of the population and the other religious minorities have a minuscule presence.

Rationale Behind the Caste-Based Survey

• Politics
  • The survey was proposed by the JD(U), and part of the reason was it needed some rejuvenation in political field.
  • The CM of Bihardoes not have a strong caste base. Even this survey shows that his caste, Kurmis, are under 3% of the population.
  • He needs more castes to rally behind him, and it is believed that the survey was born out of his personal political ambitions.
• Inspiration from the Socialism of Ram Manohar Lohia
  • The proponents of the survey (Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav), emerged from the JP movement, and their politics can be traced back farther to the socialism of Ram Manohar Lohia.
  • Lohia’s social justice arguments were for better record of castes and therefore better representation of castes 

History of Caste Churn in Bihar

• Era of Dominated Forward Castes
  • Historically, Bhumihars, Brahmins, Rajputs and Lalas (Kayasthas) have together dominated Bihar’s political and caste landscape.
  • They were the major landowners, and until the 1970s, their dominance was largely unchallenged.
  • Most prominent Bihari leaders till date have come from either these four castes or from the powerful backwards; comprising the numerically sizable castes of the Yadavs, Koeris (Kushwahas), and Kurmis.
• Change in Dynamics in the Late 70s
  • First, a backward caste (Nai) leader called Karpoori Thakur (1924-88) became Chief Minister in June 1977.
  • This development was the result of a process that began in the late 1960s, when a large number of backward caste members entered the Bihar Vidhan Sabha for the first time.
  • In 1978 for the first time, Thakur implemented a model of layered reservation, in which a 26% quota was divided into 12% for backwards, 8% for the poor among the backwards, 3% for women, and 3% for the upper caste poor.
  • Thakur is considered to be the mentor of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar.
• Role of Lalu Yadavin the Story of Caste
  • The arrival of Lalu Prasad in the 1990s was a pivotal moment for caste relations.
  • He directly challenged the political power of the four upper castes; his provocative slogan was “Bhura baal(Bhumihar-Rajput-Brahman-Lala) saaf karo”.
  • Subsequently, the 1990s saw a collapse of law and order, and massive corruption and while the rest of the country was beginning to grow quickly, Bihar stagnated as a whole.
  • The period led to the spark, that ignited Bihar's caste society.
• Nitish Kumar’s Caste Politics
  • He believed that Yadavs and Muslims were firmly with Lalu Prasad, but upper castes, Dalits, and lower backwards (EBCs) could be wooed for votes.
  • So, he brought in policies to target the EBCs and a section of Dalits.
  • For instance, for the first time in Bihar’s history, he implemented reservation in local political positions, not just for women and Dalits, but also for the EBCs.
  • Nitish also understood that within the Scheduled Caste groups, a few were better off than the rest.
  • The Paswans, for instance,were historically bodyguards of powerful landlords, and shared a reasonably good relationship with the feudal powers, but this was not the case for lower Dalits such as Majhis or Doms.
  • So, he carved out a separate Mahadalit group from the Dalits, created a Mahadalit Vikas Mission in 2007 and pushed a separate set of policies that discriminated in favour of these Dalit groups. 

Role of Mandal Commission Report in Rising Caste Consciousness in Bihar

• Even today in Bihara government job was the lottery ticket to progress for most families and reservations was looked upon as a means to fundamentally transform the lives of many.
• The Mandal recommendations strengthened the already strong caste consciousness among the OBCs.
• On the other hand, Mandal also managed to solidify the bonds between the upper-castes as they came together to oppose the reservations.

How will the Caste Survey Translate into Better-designed Policies on the Ground?

• Reservations for Dalits for the post of Panchayat mukhiya(president) is based on the proportion of Dalits in a particular block (comprising 15 Gram Panchayats).
• If 20% of people in a block are Dalits, 20% of GP mukhiyas will be Dalit as well. While there has been similar reservation for EBCs at the Panchayat level, the proportion of EBCs in a block was not known.
• So, the government made a rule that up to 20% of seats can be reserved for EBCs.
• Now, with this survey, the government has jatidata at a very fine geographical level, and the caste survey can rationalise policies such as this.
• And such measures can have major long-term consequences for governance down the line.

Challenges Ahead for the Bihar Caste Survey

• Legal Challenges
  • The Caste survey has been challenged on the grounds that it violates the SC’s privacy judgement [K S Puttaswamy vs Union of India (2017)].
  • The petitions argued that it is actually a census in the garb of a survey, which is beyond the legislative competence of the state government.
  • It impinges upon the legislative power of the Union Parliament. Also, the Census Act 1948 empowers only the Centre to conduct a census.
• Will Reopen Debate on SC’s 50% Quota Ceiling
  • Underlining the need to ensure efficiency in administration, the SC in its 1992 decision in ‘Indra Sawhney vs Union of India’ had fixed the 50% ceiling for reservation (which can be breached only in “exceptional circumstances”).
  • In 2021, a five judge Constitution bench of the SC unanimously struck down a Maharashtra law (which provides reservation to the Maratha community) as unconstitutional, holding the total quota limit would exceed 50%.
  • However, a five-judge bench (in a 3:2 majority) of the SC upheld the 10% EWS quota, which also breached the 50% ceiling. The court held that the ceiling was for backward classes.

Will the Bihar Caste Survey Become Mandal 2.0?

• The survey results will act as a driver for the kind of politics these parties have always done.
• The data will add weight and strength to their demands and will help the government make targeted policies for their base.
• Most parties in the INDIA alliance will make demands for the backwards.
• Mandal was transformational because it, for the first time, took an entire mass of people and recognised their marginal position and gave them reservations.
• Therefore, anything that comes next will build on top of it and hence bring marginal change.

Conclusion

• The Bihar government is likely to use the survey data to give a rallying call for “social justice” and “development with justice”.
• The survey report has triggered a national debate over caste composition and its share, and no political party can afford to ignore it now.