‘Bihar to hold caste survey’
PATNA: Bihar will conduct a caste-based survey of its population to determine the socio-economic status of all communities, chief minister Nitish Kumar said on Thursday, after all parties backed the demand that has the potential to realign electoral dynamics in the state.
Kumar said the state Cabinet will soon finalise the modalities for holding a “caste-based count” but it wasn’t clear whether the exercise would resemble more a statistical sample survey or a
physical hand count, like the census. If it’s the latter, Bihar will become the first state in India to officially count all castes since Independence.
“It will take into account all the aspects related to every caste and sub-caste within all religious groups to get a clear picture of their actual status for help in planning for their uplift. The ultimate objective of the exercise is to ensure development with justice to all,” Kumar said after the two-hour meeting with representatives of nine parties.
The last census to count all castes dates back to 1931, though several estimates have been made since then, most notably in the 1990 Mandal Commission report to grant reservation to other backward classes (OBCs).
The population census is a Union subject (Article 246) and is listed at number 69 of the seventh schedule of the Constitution. The Census Act 1948 forms the legal basis for the conduct of census in independent India. States cannot independently order a census but “it was also discussed at the meeting and therefore, it was decided to go in for a survey. There is no problem in getting the count,” said deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad.
The decision is also important because Kumar is an ally of the BJP, which has not spelt out its stand on the tricky issue. He clarified that the BJP was not opposed to it; but had only expressed its inability to conduct it on the national scale. Opposition’s Tejashwi Yadav termed it a victory of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. “With 39 of the 40 MPs in Bihar from the NDA [National Democratic Alliance], we would like the issue to be raised in Parliament for central assistance to carry out this huge exercise, which will have huge cost involved. Had Centre done it, this could have been saved by adding just an additional column in the Census,” he added. Former director of AN Sinha institute of social studies, DM Diwakar, said: “How it (the government) goes about it will determine its success, for past experiences have not been very encouraging.”