Bihar caste survey: EBCs at 36%, OBC count at 63%

Social Issues Caste system

Context: Recently, the Bihar government has released the results of its socio-economic caste survey in the State.

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 population.
SCs and STs: There are about 20% (2.6 crore) Scheduled Castes (SCs), and just 1.6% (22 lakh) Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Minorities: Muslims comprise 17.70% of the population and the other religious minorities have a minuscule presence.
Total Population: Bihar’s population, according to the survey, is 13, 07, 25,310, compared to the 10.41 crore recorded in the 2011 census.

Hindus comprise 99% of the population, and
Muslims 72%.
The populations of Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and other religious denominations are minuscule.

The survey’s first phase, which involved counting the total number of households in Bihar, began on January 7 and ended on January 21 (2023).
The second and final phase kickstarted on April 15 to collect data on people from all castes, religions and economic backgrounds, among other aspects like the number of family members living in and outside the state.
The second phase was stopped mid-way after the Patna HC put a stay on it, saying the state government wasn’t competent to carry out the survey.
A huge relief came for the state government on August 1, when the HC ultimately said the survey was “perfectly valid”, which once again resumed the caste survey.

The EBCs are a group of 130-odd castes that occupy the lower rungs of the OBC spectrum that is dominated by the Yadavs and Kurmis.
Among the EBCs are Mallah, Nai, Nonia, Dhanuk, Kahar, etc.

The share of the OBC population, in both Bihar and elsewhere, has been widely believed to be much more 27% - the quantum of reservation that these castes get.
The Mandal Commission, which presented its report in 1980, had put the share of the OBC population in the country as a whole at 52%.
The OBCs have long argued that even with reservations, the so-called forward castes have cornered a disproportionately large share of government jobs in comparison to their population.
Will give a fresh impetus to the demand for a relook at the OBC quota: Because the combined OBC strength in the state (63%) is a 10% leap over their share estimated by the 1931 census, the last time caste enumeration was done in the country.
Will add a fresh vigour to the Opposition’s demand for a nationwide caste census and a OBC quota within the 33% reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.

It is a key component of Bihar’s current government, not only to stay relevant in state politics but to also play a leading role in the national opposition.
The Bihar government is likely to use the survey data to give a rallying call for “social justice” and “development with justice”.

The exercise has been challenged in the courts

It is still awaiting the final outcome before the SC.
It 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.

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.