The Patna High Court’s August 1 judgment, upholding the Bihar government’s decision to conduct a caste-based survey in the State, is likely to boost the political fortunes of ruling coalition parties such as the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, both of which claim to represent marginalised communities. However, some sceptics have a different view of the political implications of the verdict, suggesting that it could actually pave the way for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to make yet another turnaround to remain in power.
Six petitions against the survey had been filed in the Patna High Court. The State government argued that it was well within its rights to conduct such a caste-based survey “to get verified data for the welfare measures to be taken for different caste groups”. Though the Opposition BJP had earlier supported the government’s move in all-party meetings and in the State Assembly, it later changed its tune. When Bihar BJP leaders and MLAs sensed that the ruling coalition was gaining momentum from the survey, they started saying that it would damage the State’s social fabric.
Following the High Court’s order that the government’s decision was “perfectly valid”, the third phase of the caste-based survey began on Wednesday, and is likely to be completed by the end of August. With the first two phases having been conducted in January and April-May respectively, the final survey report can be expected in September, less than a year before the 2024 general election. The last caste census in India took place in the pre-Independence era in 1931, and had identified 74 caste categories in Bihar.
