The process of caste-based survey started in Bihar from January 7, 2023. [1] [2] [3] The responsibility of conducting this survey in Bihar has been entrusted to the General Administration Department (GAD) of the government. [4] The Government of Bihar is planning to collect data of every family digitally through a Mobile phone app- Bijaga (Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana). [5] BELTRON (Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.), a Government of Bihar agency providing IT support, hired the services of a Maharashtra-based private firm Trigyn Technologies to develop the mobile app, [6] that is available on Google Play. It will host the data on cloud. Necessary training has already been given to the people involved in this survey. [7] GAD of Bihar has prepared a blueprint for the caste census survey. This census will be done in two phases. There are as many as 214 castes on Bihar government list. [8] According to the list, 22 are to be counted in Scheduled Castes, 32 in Scheduled Tribes, 30 in Backward Classes, 113 in Extremely Backward Classes and 7 in Upper Castes. [9]
The Bihar government issued a notification on June 6, 2022, to conduct a caste survey in Bihar. [10] [11] The Bihar government will spend Rs 500 crore in this work from its contingency fund (Bihar Aakasmikta Nidhi), [12] while 5 lakh employees together will conduct this survey in the entire state. Apart from government employees, Anganwadi workers and Jeevika Didi will also work in this. A target has been set to complete this survey by May 2023. [13] A portal has been prepared for caste-based enumeration in Bihar. The digital work for caste-based enumeration in Bihar has been entrusted to Delhi-based company Trigyn Technologies. [14]
The first phase of caste-based survey started in Bihar from January 7, 2023, which ended on January 21. [15] The number of all households in the State were counted and recorded in the first phase. [16] 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, more than two and a half crore families were counted In the first phase of caste census, census workers reached about 2,58,90,497 families across Bihar in 38 districts, which have 534 blocks and 261 urban local bodies and numbered the houses. [17] In the first phase, the name of the head of the family and the number of members living there were recorded. [18] More than 5.18 lakh personnel were engaged in the caste census of the first phase which began on January 7. Survey of 14.35 lakh families was done in Patna district, left out families can give information to District Caste Enumeration Cell. [19]
In second phase of the survey, which is to start from April 15 and end on May 15, [20] people living in the households, their castes, sub-castes, socio-economic conditions etc. will be collected. The survey will end on May 31, 2023. In this phase, over 3.04 lakh enumerators will ask respondents 17 questions, including caste. [21] 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. [22] Bihar government has set different codes for 215 different castes of the state. [23] [24] The sub-categories of a particular caste concerned have been merged into one single social entity, [25] and they have one numerical caste code for use during the month-long second phase of caste-based headcount. [26] 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 launches 2nd phase of caste-based survey from his ancestral home at Bakhtiyarpur. [27] [28] Newborns born from January 22, 2023 till the end of the second phase are not counted. [29] 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. [30] On August 16, 2023, the data entry work of caste-based census was completed.
S.No | Question |
---|---|
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 that 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. [31] When questioned, it was found that Roopchand is not a man. The people of this area call money 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. [32]
On 20 January 2023, Supreme Court of India refused to entertain various pleas challenging Bihar Government's notification to conduct caste-based census in Bihar. [33] [34] [35] The pleas against caste-based survey were filed by many petitioners, including Youth For Equality group. [36] Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar said that the exercise is not caste census, instead its a caste survey. [37] [38] [39] 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). [40] [41] Government of Bihar informed Patna High Court that 80% of the "survey" was completed. [42] 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. [43] On 7 July 2023, Patna High court reserved its verdict after hearing a total of 8 PIL pleas challenging various aspects of the survey. [44] On 1 August 2023, Patna High Court gave judgement that holding caste survey in Bihar is valid and legal. [45] A division bench comprising Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathy passed the order in its 101-page verdict, [46] [47] [48] [49] while dismissing all petitions challenging survey. [50] [51] The second phase of Bihar's caste-based survey resumed on 2 August 2023. [52] 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. [53] [54] 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 [55] [56] and subsequently scheduled the matter for resumed hearing on 28 August 2023. [57] [58] Union Home Ministry filed affidavit in Supreme Court that Census Act allows only Central government to conduct census and actions like a census. [59] [60] Later in evening, it backtracked from its previous affidavit and filed a fresh affidavit claiming that the paragraph "inadverdently crept in". [61] [62] [63] 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. [64] 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. [65]
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Lalu Prasad Yadav 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.
The Other Backward Class (O.B.C.) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which 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.
Raja Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal was a scion of the erstwhile Murho Estate and an Indian politician who chaired the Mandal Commission. Mandal came from a rich Yadav Royal family from Madhepura in Northern Bihar. He served as the seventh Chief Minister of Bihar in 1968, but he resigned after 30 days. As a parliamentarian, he served as the chairman of the Second Backward Classes Commission, popularly known as the Mandal Commission. The commission's report mobilized a segment of the Indian population known as "Other Backward Classes" (OBCs) and initiated a fierce debate on policies related to underrepresented and underprivileged groups in Indian politics.
Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts is home to the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nalanda is located in the Magadh region of southern Bihar.
Nitish Kumar is an Indian politician, who is serving as 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. He is the leader of the Janata Dal (United). Previously, Kumar also served as a Union Minister as the Samata Party member.He was member of the Samata Party until 2005 and Janata Dal from 1989 to 1994. Kumar first entered politics as a member of the Janata Dal, becoming an MLA in 1985. A socialist, Kumar founded the Samata Party in 1994 along with George Fernandes. In 1996 he was elected to the Lok Sabha, and served as a Union Minister in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with his party joining the National Democratic Alliance. In 2003 his party merged into the Janata Dal (United), and Kumar became its leader. In 2005, the NDA won a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and Kumar became chief minister heading a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kushwaha is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain that has traditionally been involved in agriculture, including beekeeping. The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the Kachhis, Koeris and Muraos. Under the Indian governments system of positive discrimination, the Kushwahas are classified as a "Backward" or Other backward class. The Kushwaha had worshipped Shiva and Shakta, but beginning in the 20th century, they claim descent from the Suryavansh (Solar) dynasty via Kusha, one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. In Bihar, many Koeris, who possess land, education and government jobs have become upwardly mobile and demonstrate upper-caste characteristics.
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.
The politics of Bihar, an eastern state of India, is dominated by regional political parties. As of 2021, the main political parties are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU). There are also some smaller regional parties, including Samata Party, Hindustani Awam Morcha, Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Jan Adhikar Party and Vikassheel Insaan Party, Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which play a vital role in politics of state. As of 2022, Bihar is currently ruled by Mahagatbandhan (Grandalliance) coalition.
The Lonia or Nonia are Hindu other backward caste, found in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar adjoining areas, who were traditionally involved in salt-making activities. The Lonia or Nonia are listed as extremely backward caste along with Mallah, Bind and Beldar communities, by state governments. The community leaders have been seeking Scheduled Tribe status for the socially deprived community.Traditionally, Upparas, Lonari of South India share same occupation.
The voter turnout in 2000 assembly polls was 62.6%.
The Koeri, also referred to as Kushwaha and more recently self-described as Maurya in several parts of northern India are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional occupation was agriculture. According to Arvind Narayan Das they were horticulturist rather than agriculturists. They are also recorded as performing the work of Mahajan in credit market of rural parts of Bihar and Bengal in 1880s. Koeris have attempted Sanskritisation— as part of social resurgence. During the British rule in India, Koeris were described as "agriculturalists" along with Kurmis and other cultivating castes. They are described as a dominant caste in various opinions.
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 the Minister of State for Human Resources and Development in the Government of India. Kushwaha is a former Member of parliament from the Karakat constituency in Rohtas district, Bihar and a former member of the Rajya Sabha as well. He was the leader of his own party named Rashtriya Samata Party (RSP) 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, he resigned from all positions of Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party called Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal due to his political problems with JD(U) & Nitish Kumar.
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.
Babu Jagdeo Prasad, alternatively spelled as Jagdev Prasad and popularly known as Jagdev Babu, was an Indian politician and a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly who served as Bihar's deputy chief minister in 1968 for four days in the Satish Prasad Singh cabinet. A socialist and a proponent of Arjak culture, he was the founder of Shoshit Dal and was a staunch antagonist and critic of India's caste system. He was nicknamed as the "Lenin of Bihar".
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.
Mahagathbandhan (MGB), also known as Grand Alliance, is a coalition of political parties in the Eastern state of Bihar in India, formed ahead of the 2015 Vidhan Sabha elections in Bihar. The alliance consists of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (United), Indian National Congress (INC) and Left parties including Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation-CPIML (Liberation) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), with Nitish Kumar as the leader and Tejashwi Yadav as the chairperson. It is the ruling coalition government in Bihar.
Youth For Equality is an Indian organisation against caste-based policies and reservations, i.e. affirmative action. It was founded by students in a number of Indian universities in 2006. It organises demonstrations and legal challenges against caste-based policies.
The 2021 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 9th February 2021, they have been effectively postponed to after the 2024 general elections. 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 2023 or early 2024 is ruled out, as general elections are due in April 2024.
The Upper Backward Caste is a term used to describe the middle castes in Bihar, whose social and ritual status was not very low and which has traditionally been involved in the agricultural and animal husbandry related activities in the past. They have also been involved in low scale trade to some extent. The Koeri, Kurmi, Yadav and Bania are categorised as the upper-backwards amongst the Other Backward Class group; while the various other caste groups which constitutes the OBC, a group comprising 51% of the population of state of Bihar, has been classified as lower backwards. The upper-backwards also called upper OBC represents approximately 20.3% of the population of Bihar. These agricultural caste were the biggest beneficiaries of the land reform drive which was undertaken in the 1950s in the state and they strengthened their economic position by gaining a significant portion of excess land under the ceiling laws, which prohibited the ownership of land above a certain ceiling.
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 together constitutes 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.