- Bihar has become the first state to release data from a caste-based survey.
- The decision to conduct a caste survey was taken by the Bihar government in June last year.
- The Supreme Court told the petitioners challenging the Patna High Court order giving the go-ahead to the Bihar government for a caste survey that it would not stay the exercise unless they made out a prima facie case against it.
- The Bihar government had assured during the last hearing that it is not going to publish the data.
- The issue of the caste survey conducted by the Bihar government will be heard by the Supreme Court on October 6.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the issue of the caste survey conducted by the Bihar government on October 6, reported news agency. The petitioner’s lawyer mentioned before the court that the Bihar government has published caste survey data.
Meanwhile, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar called an all-party meeting to share the details of the caste census report, which was released on October 2. As per the reports, the meeting will include representatives from nine political parties, and there will be a comprehensive discussion on the report.
Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP in Bihar has voiced dissatisfaction with the caste survey conducted by the Nitish Kumar government, stressing that it did not give an idea of the “changed social and economic realities” over the years.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh has criticized the Bihar government for this report. He stated that the report of the Nitish government is spreading confusion among the common people and will escalate hatred among the people. He suggested that instead of this report, Nitish Kumar should present his “report card” to the public.
The survey revealed that Backwards Classes and Extremely Backward Classes constitute a whopping 63 percent of the state’s total population. Bihar’s total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, of which the EBCs (36 percent) were the largest social segment followed by the Backward Classes at 27.13 percent. The Scheduled Castes accounted for 19.65 percent of the total population in the state, while 1.68 percent belonged to the Scheduled Tribes. Those belonging to the “unreserved” category who dominated politics till the Mandal wave of the 1990s comprise 15.52 percent of the total population.
Soon after the data released by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, RJD president Lalu Prasad also issued a statement, declaring the survey will set the tone for “a nationwide caste census which will be undertaken when we form the next government at the Centre”. The Congress too welcomed the Bihar government’s move to release the findings and called upon the Centre to immediately conduct a similar exercise at the national level to ensure social justice.
A bunch of petitions in the top court have challenged the August 1 judgment of the Patna high court that allowed the government to carry out the exercise that the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has pitched as essential and imperative to further the cause of social justice. The Supreme Court told the petitioners that it would not stay the exercise unless they made out a prima facie case against it.
(With inputs from agencies)
