Bihar caste-based Survey, 2022 | ||
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General information | ||
Region | Bihar | |
Authority | Government of Bihar | |
Results | ||
Total population | 130,725,310 [1] | |
Religion | ||
General Communities | 20,291,679 (15.52%) [2] | |
Other Backward Classes | 82,544,450 (63.14%) [2] | |
Scheduled Castes | 25,689,820 (19.65%) [2] | |
Scheduled Tribes | 2,199,361 (1.68%) [2] |
The 2022 Bihar Caste Based Survey was notified by the Government of Bihar on 6 June 2022 by gazette notification after a Supreme Court ruling. [3] [4] The survey was conducted in two phases, house listing and caste and economic enumeration. The data collection for the survey began on 7 January 2023 and the data was released on 2 October 2023. [5] [1] The responsibility to conduct the survey was given to the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Government of Bihar. [6] The government planned to collect the data digitally by mobile application named Bijaga- Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana. [7] BELTRON (Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.), a Government of Bihar agency provided IT support, [8] hired the services of a Maharashtra-based private firm Trigyn Technologies to develop the mobile app. [9]
The Bihar government spent nearly ₹5 billion rupees in this work from its contingency fund (Bihar Aakasmikta Nidhi), [10] Apart from government employees, Anganwadi workers and Jeevika Didi also worked to complete the survey till given target of May 2023. [11] A portal was prepared for caste-based enumeration in Bihar. The digital work for caste-based enumeration in Bihar was entrusted to a Delhi-based company Trigyn Technologies. [12] The survey counted the 214 castes on Bihar government list. [13] According to the list, 22 were counted in Scheduled Castes, 32 in Scheduled Tribes, 30 in Backward Classes, 113 in Extremely Backward Classes and 7 in Upper Castes. [14] [15] [16]
The first phase of the caste-based survey started in Bihar from January 7, 2023, and ended on January 21. [17] The number of all households in the State were counted and recorded in the first phase. [18] The second phase will be calculated on the basis of the data of the first phase. All the data collected in the first phase is uploaded on this portal and these data will be available to the enumerators and supervisors at the time of second enumeration on the mobile app. In the first phase of caste census, census workers reached about 25,890,497 families across Bihar in 38 districts, which have 534 blocks and 261 urban local bodies and numbered the houses. [19] In the first phase, the name of the head of the family and the number of members living there were recorded. [20] More than 518,000 personnel were engaged in the caste census of the first phase which began on January 7. A survey of 14.35 lakh families was done in the district of Patna, left out families can give information to District Caste Enumeration Cell. [21]
In second phase of the survey, which started on April 15, 2023 and end on May 15, 2023, people living in the households, their castes, sub-castes, and socio-economic conditions etc, were collected. The survey ended on May 31, 2023. In this phase, over 304,000 enumerators asked respondents 17 questions, including caste. [22] Every enumerator has been given a target to reach out to 150 households. While all 17 questions are mandatory, filling Aadhaar number, caste certificate number and ration card number of the head of the family, are optional. [23] Bihar government has set different codes for 215 different castes of the state. [24] [25] The sub-categories of a particular caste concerned have been merged into one single social entity, [26] and they have one numerical caste code for use during the month-long second phase of caste-based headcount. [27] At the same time, there will be special strictness regarding the registration of names in this phase. If someone tries to write the name twice, now the app will mark such people. The names of people living outside the state will also be registered.
On 15 April 2023, Nitish Kumar launched 2nd phase of caste-based survey from his ancestral home at Bakhtiyarpur. [28] [29] Newborns born from January 22, 2023, till the end of the second phase are not counted. [30] Nitish Kumar informed that once the data work is completed, the report of the caste-based survey would be tabled in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha and the Bihar Vidhan Parishad. After that the report would be made public. The work of the second phase of counting will be done from April 15 to May 15, 2023, in all 261 urban local bodies and 534 blocks. [31] On August 16, 2023, the data entry work of the caste-based census was completed.
S.no | Question |
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1 | Full name of family member |
2 | Father's / husband's name |
3 | Relation to the head of the family |
4 | Age (in years) |
5 | Gender |
6 | Marital status |
7 | Religion |
8 | Caste |
9 | Temporary migration status (place of work or study, whether within or outside state, country or abroad) |
10 | Educational qualifications (pre-primary to post master's degree) |
11 | Profession (ranges from government to private job in organised or unorganised sector, self-employed, farmer [owner of farm land], agricultural labourer, construction labourer, other labourer, skilled labourer, beggar, rag-picker, student, housewife to those having no work) |
12 | Ownership of computer/laptop (with or without internet connectivity) |
13 | Motor vehicle (two-wheeler, three-wheeler, four-wheeler, six-wheeler or more, tractor) |
14 | Agricultural land (area from 0-50 decimals to 5 acres and above) |
15 | Residential land (area from 5 decimals land to 20 decimals and above; flat owner in a multi-storied apartment) |
16 | Monthly income from all sources(ranging from a minimum 0- ₹ 6,000 to a maximum ₹ 50,000 and above) |
17 | Residential condition (pucca/thatched house, hutment or homeless) |
In April 2023, there was an incident during the caste census; around 40 women in a red-light area of Ward No. 7 in Bihar's Arwal district declared a man named Roopchand as their husband. Some of them even mentioned name Roopchand as their father's name and children's name. [32] When questioned, it was found that Roopchand is not a man. The people of this area call money as Roopchand.
In some places such as Masaurhi and Dhanarua in Patna district, members of Lohar (blacksmith) community boycotted the caste survey saying that Bihar Government wants to categorise it under either Lohra/Lohara or Kamar (carpenter) caste. [33]
On 20 January 2023, the Supreme Court of India refused to entertain various pleas challenging Bihar Government's notification to conduct caste-based census in Bihar. [34] [35] [36] The pleas against caste-based survey were filed by many petitioners, including Youth For Equality group. [37] Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar said that the exercise is not caste census, instead its a caste survey. [38] [39] [40] On 4 May 2023, Patna High Court stayed the caste-based survey in its interim order, and directed the state government to keep the survey data, collected so far preserved till the next date of hearing (July 3, 2023). [41] [42] Government of Bihar informed Patna High Court that 80% of the "survey" was completed. [43] Patna High court asked questions on 11 points from Bihar government in its interim order. Government of Bihar countered that a central law, Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 empowers state government to carry out all kinds of censuses and surveys, including for caste. [44] On 7 July 2023, Patna High court reserved its verdict after hearing a total of 8 PIL pleas challenging various aspects of the survey. [45] On 1 August 2023, Patna High Court gave judgement that holding caste survey in Bihar is valid and legal. [46] A division bench comprising Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathy passed the order in its 101-page verdict, [47] [48] [49] [50] while dismissing all petitions challenging survey. [51] [52] The second phase of Bihar's caste-based survey resumed on 2 August 2023. [53] On 21 August 2023, Patna High Court disposed of a writ petition seeking deletion of transgenders from caste list, and stated that transgender individuals can make representations to Government of Bihar to not be considered as a caste. [54] [55] Government of Bihar had filed a counter affidavit to this plea, informing the court that this anomaly was rectified on 25 April 2023 by instructing the enumerators to have three options for gender.
On 21 August 2023, Supreme Court of India bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked Central Government to provide a response within seven days regarding the survey's potential consequences [56] [57] and subsequently scheduled the matter for resumed hearing on 28 August 2023. [58] [59] Union Home Ministry filed affidavit in Supreme Court that Census Act allows only Central government to conduct census and actions like a census. [60] [61] Later in evening, it backtracked from its previous affidavit and filed a fresh affidavit claiming that the paragraph "inadverdently crept in". [62] [63] [64] Government of Bihar reiterated its previously stated position that the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008, empowers it to conduct such an enumeration exercise in the interest of social justice. [65] On 6 September 2023, Supreme Court of India bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti posted the matter to October 3 and clarified that it had not granted any stay on the publication of the survey. [66] On 6 October 2023, Supreme Court of India refused to issue any interim directive to restrain Government of Bihar from releasing more caste-census data, and listed the next hearing in the matter in January 2024. [67] [68] [69] [70] On 2 January 2024, Supreme Court of India asked Bihar government to release the break-up of the caste survey data in the public domain, and listed the next hearing in the matter on 5 February 2024. [71]
The finidings of the survey increased the overall reservation to 65% which was struck down by the Patna high court on 20th june 2024 [72]
Category | Community | Reservation | Total population | Total households | Household monthly income | Education | Employment | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
less than 6,000 | 6,000 – 10,000 | 10,000 – 20,000 | 20,000 – 50,000 | above 50,000 | 1 to 5 | 6 to 10 | 11 to 12 | Deploma | Graduate | Post Graduate | Doctorate/CA | Illiterate | Govt. job | Organised Pvt. job | ||||||||||||||||
Hindu [a] | Muslim | Actual num. | pct. | pct. | pct. | pct. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | Actual num. | pct. | pct. | ||||
General | 4 | 3 | 10%* | 20,291,679 (15.52%) | 4,328,282 (15.64%) | 1,085,913 | 25.09% | 23.98% | 19.27% | 16.95% | 9.86% | 3,509,576 | 17.45% | 6,410,968 | 31.88% | 2,813,515 | 13.99% | 233,297 | 1.16% | 2,921,947 | 14.53% | 502,704 | 2.5% | 50,377 | 0.25% | 3,666,823 | 18.23% | 641,281 | 3.16% | 3.49% |
BC | 30 | 4 | 12% | 35,463,936 (27.13%) | 7,473,529 (27.01%) | 2,477,970 | 33.16% | 29.35% | 18.42% | 10.67% | 4.22% | 7,692,304 | 21.69% | 10,760,570 | 30.34% | 3,790,586 | 10.69% | 236,493 | 0.67% | 2,533,580 | 7.14% | 287,969 | 0.81% | 25,284 | 0.07% | 10,137,150 | 28.58% | 621,481 | 1.75% | 1.13% |
EBC | 82 | 31 | 18% | 47,080,514 (36.01%) | 9,884,904 (35.73%) | 3,319,509 | 33.58% | 32.56% | 18.82% | 8.32% | 2.28% | 11,607,532 | 24.65% | 13,743,637 | 29.19% | 3,742,137 | 7.95% | 200,060 | 0.42% | 2,090,749 | 4.44% | 203,328 | 0.43% | 14,143 | 0.03% | 15,478,928 | 32.88% | 0.98% | 0.73% | |
SC | 22 | — | 16% | 25,689,820 (19.65%) | 5,472,024 (19.78%) | 2,349,111 | 42.93% | 29.44% | 15.32% | 5.9% | 1.72% | 6,246,358 | 24.31% | 6,393,393 | 24.89% | 1,480,345 | 5.76% | 72,256 | 0.28% | 805,420 | 3.14% | 72,267 | 0.28% | 4,353 | 0.02% | 10,615,428 | 41.32% | 1.13% | 0.51% | |
ST | 32 | 1% | 2,199,361 (1.68%) | 470,256 (1.7%) | 200,809 | 42.7% | 25.8% | 16.97% | 8% | 2.53% | 539,222 | 24.52% | 600,825 | 27.32% | 164,555 | 7.48% | 8,636 | 0.39% | 77,871 | 3.54% | 5,980 | 0.27% | 505 | 0.02% | 801,767 | 36.45% | 30,164 | 1.37% | 0.68% | |
Unspecified | 1 | — | 39,935 (0.14%) | 9,474 | 23.72% | 22.9% | 18.7% | 17.0% | 12.5% | 33,431 | 18.32% | 54,637 | 29.94% | 21,008 | 11.51% | 2,014 | 1.1% | 26,500 | 14.52% | 4,452 | 2.44% | 736 | 0.4% | 39,694 | 21.75% | |||||
State | 215 | 50% [b] | 130,725,310 | 27,668,930 | 9,442,786 | 34.13% | 29.61% | 18.06% | 9.83% | 3.9% | 29,628,423 | 22.66% | 37,964,030 | 29.04% | 12,012,146 | 9.19% | 752,756 | 0.58% | 8,456,067 | 6.47% | 1,076,700 | 0.82% | 95,398 | 0.07% | 40,739,790 | 31.16% | 2,049,370 | 1.57% | 1.22% |
The 2022 Bihar caste-based survey report, released on October 2, 2023, reveals a total population of 130,725,310. Among them, 35,463,936 (27.12%) belong to Backward Classes (BCs), 47,080,514 (36.01%) belong to Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), collectively constituting 82,544,450 (63.14%) of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Additionally, 25,689,820 (19.65%) belong to Scheduled Castes (SCs), 2,199,361 (1.68%) belong to Scheduled Tribes (STs), and 20,291,679 (15.52%) belong to the Unreserved (General) communities. [77] [78] [79] [80] Among the 214 (excluding one category, "Others", which enumerates people who do not belong to any of the predefined 214 community list) surveyed communities, around 190 castes have a population of less than one percent. [81] The survey also indicates that Hindus make up 81.99%, Islam 17.70%, Buddhism 0.08%, Christianity 0.06%, Jainism 0.01%, Sikhism 0.01%, and 0.13% adhere to other unclassified religious beliefs. [82]
Caste | State Category | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
Yadav (Ahir, Gowala, Gora, Ghasi, Mehar and Sadgop) | BC | 18,650,119 | 14.2666% |
Dushadh (Dhari, Dharahi) | 6,943,000 | 5.3111% | |
Ravidas (Mochi, Ravidas, Rohidas, Charmkar) | EBC | 6,869,664 | 5.255% |
Kushwaha (Koeri) | 5,506,113 | 4.212% | |
Shaikh (caste) (Muslim) | BC | 4,995,897 | 3.8217% |
Brahmin | Gen. | 4,781,280 | 3.6575% |
Momin (Muslim)/Julaha/Ansari (Muslim) | 4,634,245 | 3.545% | |
Rajput | Gen. | 4,510,733 | 3.4505% |
Musahar | EBC | 4,035,787 | 3.0872% |
Kurmi | 3,762,969 | 2.8785% | |
Bhumihar | 3,750,886 | 2.8693% | |
Teli | 3,677,491 | 2.8131% | |
Mallah (Nishad) | 3,410,093 | 2.6086% | |
Bania (Sudhi, Modak/Mamas, Roniyar, Pansari, Modi, Karora, Kesharvani, Thathera, Kalwar (Kalal/Iraqi), (Vigahut Kalwar), Kamlapuri Vaishya, Mahuri Vaishya, Bangi Vaishya (Bangali Baniya), Baranwal Vaishya, Agrahari Vaishya, Vaishya Poddar, Kasaudhan, Gandhbanik, Batham Vaishya, Goldar (East/Wesh Champaran) | 3,026,912 | 2.3155% | |
Kanu | 2,892,761 | 2.2129% | |
Dhanuk | 2,796,605 | 2.1393% | |
Nonia | 2,498,474 | 1.9112% | |
Surjapuri Muslim (except Sheikh, Syed, Mullick, Mughal, Pathan) (Muslim) | 2,446,212 | 1.8713% | |
Pan, Sawasi, Panar | 2,228,343 | 1.7046% | |
Nai | 2,082,048 | 1.5927% | |
Chandravanshi (Kahar, Kamkar) | 2,055,644 | 1.5725% | |
Barhai (carpenter) | 1,895,672 | 1.4501% | |
Dhuniya (Muslim) | 1,888,192 | 1.4444% | |
Kumhar (Prajapati) | 1,834,418 | 1.4033% | |
Rayeen or Kunjra (Muslim) | 1,828,584 | 1.3988% | |
Shershahbadi (Muslim) | 1,302,644 | 0.9965% | |
Pasi | 1,288,031 | 0.9853% | |
Bind | 1,285,358 | 0.9833% | |
Kulhaiya (Muslim) | 1,253,781 | 0.9591% | |
Bhuiya | 1,174,460 | 0.8984% | |
Dhobi (Rajak) | 1,096,158 | 0.8385% | |
Pathan (Khan) (Muslim) | 986,665 | 0.7548% | |
Sonar | 893,276 | 0.6833% | |
Kayastha | 785,771 | 0.6011% | |
Sai/Faqeer/Diwan/Madar (Muslim) | 663,197 | 0.5073% | |
Gangota (Gangaputra) | 648,493 | 0.4961% | |
Barai, Tamoli, Chaurasiya | 616,092 | 0.4713% | |
Beldar (Hindu) | 483,554 | 0.3699% | |
Dhobi (Muslim) | 409,796 | 0.3135% | |
Pal (Bhedihar, Gaderi, Gaderiya) | 363,529 | 0.2781% | |
Mali | 349,285 | 0.2672% | |
Dangi | 336,629 | 0.2575% | |
Idrisi or Darzi (Muslim) | 329,661 | 0.2522% | |
Syed (Muslim) | 297,975 | 0.2279% | |
Dom, Dhangadh, Bansfor, Dharikar, Dharkar, Domra | 263,512 | 0.2016% | |
Hari Mehtar, Bhangi | 255,582 | 0.1955% | |
Rajbhar | 224,722 | 0.1719% | |
Chudihar (Muslim) | 207,914 | 0.159% | |
Thakurai (Muslim) | 147,482 | 0.1128% | |
Qasab (Qasai) (Muslim) | 133,807 | 0.1024% | |
Mullick (Muslim) | 111,655 | 0.0854% | |
Nat | 105,358 | 0.0806% | |
Bhat (Muslim) | 89,052 | 0.0681% | |
Madariya (Only for Sanhaul block of Bhagalpur and Dhoriya block of Banka) (Muslim) | 86,658 | 0.0663% | |
Daphali (Muslim) | 73,259 | 0.056% | |
Mehtar, Lalbegi, Halalkhor, Bhangi (Muslim) | 69,914 | 0.0535% | |
Morshikar(Muslim) | 66,607 | 0.051% | |
Pamaria (Muslim) | 64,890 | 0.0496% | |
Nat (Muslim) | 61,629 | 0.0471% | |
Gaddi (Muslim) | 57,617 | 0.0441% | |
Mukairi (Muslim) | 56,522 | 0.0432% | |
Cheeq (Muslim) | 50,404 | 0.0386% | |
Jat (Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamadhi, Khagaria & Araria) (Muslim) | 44,949 | 0.0344% | |
Rangrez (Muslim) | 43,347 | 0.0332% | |
Bakho (Muslim) | 36,830 | 0.0282% | |
Bhathiyara (Muslim) | 27,263 | 0.0209% | |
Sainthwar | 20,505 | 0.0157% | |
Saikalgarg (Muslim) | 18,936 | 0.0145% | |
Qadar (Muslim) | 18,121 | 0.0139% | |
Miriyasin (Muslim) | 15,415 | 0.0118% | |
Nalband (Muslim) | 11,900 | 0.0091% | |
Christian Convert (EBC) | 11,506 | 0.0088% | |
Madari (Muslim) | 11,620 | 0.0089% | |
Abdal (Muslim) | 11,433 | 0.0087% | |
Christian Convert (Harijan) | 9,708 | 0.0074% | |
Itfarosh/Itafarosh/Gadheri/Itpaz Ibrahimi (Muslim) | 9,462 | 0.0072% | |
Qalandar (Muslim) | 7,873 | 0.006% | |
Qaghzi (Muslim) | 2,360 | 0.0018% | |
Shekhra | 1,904 | 0.7648% |
The Other Backward Class category has played pivotal role in politics of Bihar and their socio-economic status changed remarkably after the Mandal Politics of 1990s. This category also holds significant position in social and economic life of state. Analysis of the survey report by some news reports showed that the prominent OBC castes, Yadav, Koeri, Kurmi and Bania were the biggest beneficiary in the post mandal politics of Backward Castes. They also improved their socio-economic status and remained significant holders of government jobs. It was also found that Yadavs with biggest share in population of state at 14.26%, were less represented in government jobs in proportion of their population. In their comparison, two other prominent castes Koeri and Kurmi were better represented. The Koeri and Kurmis with much smaller population size were also found to be in better socio-economic condition. It was opined that this was a consequence of better position of Koeri and Kurmis in land ownership and educational progress. [95]
Caste | Category | Number of people in government jobs [96] | Percentage of population in government jobs |
---|---|---|---|
Yadav | Other Backward Caste | 289,538 | 1.55% |
Kushwaha (Koeri) | Other Backward Caste | 112,106 | 2.04% |
Kurmi | Other Backward Caste | 117,171 | 3.11% |
Bhumihar | Forward Caste | 187,256 | 4.9% |
Rajput | Forward Caste | 171,933 | 3.81% |
Brahmin | Forward Caste | 172,259 | 3.60% |
Kayastha | Forward Caste | 52,490 | 6.68% |
Paswan (Dusadh) | Schedule Caste | 99,230 | 1.44% |
Ravidas (Chamar) | Schedule Caste | 82,290 | 1.20% |
Dhobi | Schedule Caste | 34,372 | 3.14% |
Pasi | Schedule Caste | 25,754 | 2% |
Musahar | Schedule Caste | 10,615 | 0.26% |
Bania (Sudhi, Modak/Mayra, Rauniyar, Pansari, Modi, Kasera, Thathera, Kalwar/Kalal/Eki, Kamalapuri Vaishya, Mahuri Vaishya, Bangi Vaishya, Baranwal Vaishya, Kesharvani, Agrahari Vaishya, Vaishya Poddar, Kasaudhan, Gandhvanik, Batham Vaishya, Goldar) | Other Backward Caste | 59,286 | 1.96% |
Teli | Extremely Backward Caste | 53,056 | 1.44% |
Kanu | Extremely Backward Caste | 34,404 | 1.19% |
Dhanuk | Extremely Backward Caste | 33,337 | 1.19% |
Kahar (Chandravanshi) | Extremely Backward Caste | 31,200 | 1.45% |
Nai | Extremely Backward Caste | 28,756 | 1.38% |
Barhai | Extremely Backward Caste | 20,279 | 1.07% |
Mallaah | Extremely Backward Caste | 14,100 | 0.41% |
Nonia | Extremely Backward Caste | 14,226 | 0.57% |
Sheikh | Forward Caste | 39,595 | 0.7% |
As per the survey, 95.49% of the people in Bihar do not own any vehicle. This means out of the total population of the state, 12,48,00,000 people do not own any vehicle. [97]
Communities having significant ownership of two-wheeler vehicles in Bihar [98] | Number of two-wheelers owned |
---|---|
Yadav | 761,014 |
Kushwaha (Koeri) | 300,686 |
Kurmi | 191,224 |
Brahmin | 321,335 |
Bhumihar | 278,716 |
Rajput | 312,395 |
Bania | 203,411 |
Kayastha | 84,515 |
Communities having significant ownership of tractors in Bihar | Number of tractors owned |
---|---|
Yadav | 51,975 |
Kushwaha (Koeri) | 12,428 |
Kurmi | 7,170 |
Brahmin | 7,315 |
Bhumihar | 12,014 |
Rajput | 12,031 |
Bania | 3,558 |
Kayastha | 642 |
Communities having significant ownership of three-wheeler vehicles in Bihar | Number of three-wheelers owned |
---|---|
Yadav | 24,765 |
Kushwaha (Koeri) | 6,571 |
Kurmi | 4,552 |
Brahmin | 6,704 |
Bhumihar | 5,109 |
Rajput | 6,149 |
Bania | 5,376 |
Kayastha | 1,340 |
The caste survey figure, however, were challenged by many politicians of the state. It was alleged that the population of certain castes were inflated while the population of others were underrepresented in the survey. Prominent Schedule Caste leader of state, Chirag Paswan accused that it was done in order to reap political gains. It was widely believed that population of Kushwaha caste was underrepresented in the survey. [99] The president of Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Upendra Kushwaha also claimed that the figures are unreliable as the sub-caste of Kushwaha community like Dangis were counted as a separate entity. [100]
During the process of caste data collection itself, officials of General Administration department (GAD) informed that some people can be left out of survey, as survey is a sub-set of census and cannot be expected to have 100% coverage. [12] On 5 October 2023, BJP MP from Patna Sahib Ravi Shankar Prasad said that no one met him or his family to collect their caste information and implied that the survey data was manipulated to suit RJD. [101] [102] [103] Information and Public Relations Department, Bihar countered this allegation saying his and his family's data was collected as per norm. Tejashwi Yadav remarked that if caste data was to be altered, Nitish Kumar would have exaggerated the numbers of his own Kurmi caste. [104]
The revealing of numbers of various caste groups also brought the discussion about political representation of various castes on fore. The discussion about castes of Members of Bihar Legislative Assembly and the Members of Parliament from Bihar were done for the sake of finding out representation of largest social group of Bihar called Extremely Backward Castes, whose numbers turned out to be approximately 36% in the caste survey. Several reports revealed that forward castes were overrepresented in the number of legislators from Bihar contrary to their minute share in population. The Hindu Forward Castes, who made up nearly 10% percent of the population of the state had 64 Member of Legislative Assembly in 243 membered house in the 2020 to 2025 Assembly period. It was found that among the Forward Castes, Rajputs had seven Member of Parliament out of 40 Lok Sabha members from Bihar, making them grossly overrepresented. Yadav caste also had large share in number of legislators in State Assembly and they made up 52 out of 243 MLAs. [105] In the state legislative assembly, among the Forward Castes, Rajputs had 28 legislators, which was grossly disproportionate to their population, which was pegged at approximately 3.4 percent. [106] A study after 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections found that most of the Forward Caste legislators were elected on the symbol of Bharatiya Janata Party, which distributed 52 out of 110 seats it contested to Forward Castes. [107]
On 9 November 2023, Bihar Assembly Passed Bill For 65% Caste Quota excluding 10% EWS Quota, [108] in government jobs and educational institutions. [109] [110] [111] The new reservation quota percentages include 20% for Scheduled Castes, 2% for Scheduled Tribes, 18% for Backward Classes, 25% for Extremely Backward Classes, and 10% for the economically weaker section among the Upper Castes. [112] The existing 3% reservation for BC women was scrapped. [113] Bihar Government issued gazette notifications for raising the quota to 75% after Governor Rajendra Arlekar gave his assent to two bills. [111] The two bills were notified as - The Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (For Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) (Amendment) Act 2023, and The Bihar (In Admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act 2023.
On 20 June 2024, Patna High Court struck down 65 per cent reservation cap in government jobs and educational institutions. [114] [115]
Lalu Prasad is an Indian politician and president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He is a former Chief Minister of Bihar (1990-1997), a former Railway Minister of India (2004-2009), and a former Member of Parliament (MP) of the Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha.
Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar and Manipur and is a part of government in both the states. JD(U) heads the government in Bihar and is part of the NDA government in Manipur. JD(U) won 12 seats in the 2024 Indian general election, making it the seventh largest party in the Lok Sabha. JD(U) states that they believe in promoting social justice and lifting up marginalized peoples.
Bihar is a state in Eastern India. It is the third largest state by population, the 12th largest by area, and the 15th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, and Jharkhand to the south. Bihar is split by the river Ganges, which flows from west to east. On 15 November 2000, southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand. Only 11.27% of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas as per a 2020 report. Additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state. The official language is Hindi, which shares official status alongside that of Urdu. The main native languages are Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri. But there are several other languages being spoken at smaller levels.
The Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify communities that are "educationally or socially backward". It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with general castes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country's population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980 and were determined to be 41% in 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place. There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India; it is generally estimated to be sizable, but many believe that it is higher than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or the National Sample Survey.
The Mandal Commission or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC), was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes" of India. It was headed by B. P. Mandal, an Indian member of parliament, to consider the question of reservations for people to address caste discrimination, and to use eleven social, economic, and educational indicators to determine backwardness. In 1980, based on its rationale that OBCs identified on the basis of caste, social, economic indicators made up 52% of India's population, the commission's report recommended that members of Other Backward Classes (OBC) be granted reservations to 27% of jobs under the central government and public sector undertakings and seats in the higher education institutions, thus making the total number of reservations for SC, ST and OBC to 49.5%.
Nitish Kumar is an Indian politician who has been serving as the 22nd chief minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. He is Bihar's longest serving chief minister whilst also holding the post for his 9th term.
Reservation is a controversial system of affirmative action in India created during the British rule. Based on provisions in the Indian Constitution, it allows the Union Government and the States and Territories of India to set a high percentage of reserved quotas or seats, in higher education admissions, employment, political bodies, etc., for "socially and economically backward citizens".
Teli is a caste traditionally occupied in the oil pressing and trade in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Members may be either Hindu or Muslim; Muslim Teli are called Roshandaar or Teli Malik.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) practices affirmative action and offers reservation to the "backward and weaker sections" of the society that includes SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS/PWD/Girl candidates.
Forward caste is a term used in India to denote castes which are not listed in SC, ST or OBC reservation lists. They are on average considered ahead of other castes economically and educationally. They account for about 30.8% of the population based on Schedule 10 of available data from the National Sample Survey Organisation 55th (1999–2000) and National Sample Survey Organisation 61st Rounds (2004–05) Round Survey.
At the 2011 Census, Bihar was the third most populous state of India with total population of 104,099,452, nearly 89% of it rural. It was also India's most densely populated state, with 1,106 persons per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 918 females per 1000 males. Almost 58% of Bihar's population was below 25 years age, which is the highest in India. At 11.3%, Bihar has the second-lowest urbanisation rate in India after Himachal Pradesh.
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party was a political party in India led by Upendra Kushwaha. It was launched on 3 March 2013 and was based in the state of Bihar. The party came into existence as a result of a feud between Nitish Kumar and Upendra Kushwaha, after which Kushwaha left The Nitish Kumar lead Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party. It has faced multiple rebellions and desertions since 2015. After the relations between Nitish and Kushwaha normalized, Upendra Kushwaha merged RLSP into JDU on 14 March 2021, with this, the party ceased to exist.
Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources and Development in the Government of India. Kushwaha is a former Member of Parliament (MP) from the Karakat constituency in Rohtas district, Bihar, and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the leader of Rashtriya Samata Party (RSP), his own party, which merged into Janata Dal (United) (JDU) in 2009. Later, he formed Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), which also merged with JD(U) in 2021. On 20 February 2023, Kushwaha resigned from all positions in Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party called Rashtriya Lok Morcha due to his political problems with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar. Kushwaha contested the Lok Sabha election of 2024 from Karakat constituency and finished at a distant third position. However, he was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in August 2024.
The Legislative Assembly election was held over five phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015.
The Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC) was conducted for the 2011 Census of India. The Manmohan Singh government approved the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 to be carried out after discussion in both houses of Parliament in 2010. SECC-2011 was not done under the 1948 Census of India Act and the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India was not entrusted to do the same. The SECC 2011 was conducted in all states and union territories of India and the first findings were revealed on 3 July 2015 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. SECC 2011 is also the first paperless census in India conducted on hand-held electronic devices by the government in 640 districts. The rural development ministry has taken a decision to use the SECC data in all its programmes such as MGNREGA, National Food Security Act, and the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. SECC 2011 was the first caste-based census since 1931 Census of India, and it was launched on 29 June 2011 from the Sankhola village of Hazemara block in West Tripura district.
The 2025 census of India, or the 16th Indian census, is to be conducted in two phases, a house listing phase and a population enumeration phase. Although initially the house listing was to begin in April 2020 along with the updating of the National Population Register, and the population enumeration on 9 February 2021, they have been continuously postponed. Initially the house listing was to be conducted between April and September 2020, with population enumeration in February 2021 and a revision round in March 2021. The reference date was to be 1 March 2021 in most of the states and 1 October 2020 for Jammu and Kashmir and some areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. On 2 January 2023, Additional Registrar General of India communicated to all the states that the date of freezing of administrative boundaries had been extended till 30 June 2023. The 16th census can only begin three months after the administrative boundaries have been frozen. The completion of the census in its two phases takes at least 11 months, so the possibility of the completion of this decennial census exercise in 2024 or early 2025 is ruled out, as the census was expected to begin in September 2024, but due to unexplained reasons, had still not started by early October 2024. It was reported that month that the census would take place in 2025, with a decision on a caste census still not decided. It will also serve the purpose of redistibuting seats in the Lok Sabha for the 2029 national election.
Samrat Choudhary, also known by his alias Rakesh Kumar is an Indian politician, who is currently serving as Deputy Chief minister of Bihar under Nitish Kumar. He is a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been the party president of BJP Bihar State unit from March 2023 to 25 July 2024. He has also remained Member of Legislative Assembly and a minister in Government of Bihar in Rashtriya Janata Dal government. Chaudhary has been a former Vice President of BJP for the state of Bihar and currently elected for the second term as MLC in 2020 after his first term ended in 2019. In 2014, Samrat planned a split in Rashtriya Janata Dal by defecting thirteen MLAs as splinter group of the party, later joining the BJP. In 2022, he was selected as the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council. In 2024, he was also made the convener of Group of Ministers on Goods and Service Tax rate rationalisation panel.
The Luv-Kush equation is a political term used in the context of the politics of Bihar, to denote the alliance of the agricultural Kurmi and the Koeri caste, which was assumed to be approximately 15% of the state's population The alliance of these two caste groups has remained the support base of Nitish Kumar, as against the MY equation of Lalu Prasad Yadav, which constitutes Muslims and the Yadavs. Caste consciousness and the quest for political representation largely drive the politics of Bihar. The political alliance of the Koeri and the Kurmi castes, termed the "Luv-Kush equation" was formed when a massive Kurmi Chetna Rally was organised by members of the Kurmi community in 1994 against the alleged casteist politics of Lalu Yadav, who was blamed by contemporary community leaders for promoting Yadavs in politics and administration.
The 2024 Indian general election was held in Bihar in all 7 phases from 19 April to 1 June to elect 40 members of the 18th Lok Sabha, with the results declared on 4 June.
Reservation policy in Bihar is a system of affirmative action that provides historically disadvantaged groups representation in education and employment. Reservations in the state rose from 60 percent in 2021 to 75 percent in 2023. In June 2024, Patna High Court struck down the new reservation policy.