Hours after the caste survey report was tabled in the Bihar Assembly on November 7, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar proposed increasing reservation quota for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) to 65% from 50% ceiling set by the Supreme Court. The quota will be excluding a 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
Earlier, the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) government headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had tabled detailed report on caste survey in the House with its social and economic profile saying 34.14% of the households in the state earn ₹6,000 or less in a month. The caste survey report also highlighted that among the upper castes which constitutes 15.3828%, Bhumihar community (2.8693%) and Yadavs (14.26%) among the backward class (27.1286%) are poorer than other castes. As many as 94 lakh families are found to be economically poor. However, the literacy rate, said the survey report, has increased from 61.8 to 79.70% in the state.
“In view of the caste survey report quotas for Other Backward Classes & Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes need to be raised”, said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar following a debate after tabling of the detailed caste survey report in the state assembly. He further said, “we’ll do the needful after due consultations. It is our intent to effect these changes in the current session”. The increase in the quota will be excluding 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) so the combined with the EWS quota, the proposed reservation in Bihar will go up to 75%. Currently, there is ceiling of 50% reservation set by the Supreme Court.
The proposed increase in reservation of different caste groups by chief minister Nitish Kumar would be like, for Scheduled Caste —20%, Scheduled Tribes — 2%, OBC & EBC — 43% and 10% for EWS. Currently, the reservation for OBC and EBC in Bihar is 30% (18% for EBC and 12% for OBC). SC constitutes16 % and ST 1%. In the caste survey report which was released on October 2’ 2023 both the OBC (27.1286%) and EBC (36.0148%) group constituted 63.13% while, SC has 19.6518% and ST 1.6824% population.
“The reservation quota for caste groups could be increased as per their population”, said chief minister Nitish Kumar and later he proposed the same. The report was tabled amid claims by the Opposition BJP legislators that the ruling coalition of JD(U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal had inflated the caste figures of Yadavs and Muslims to suit their vote bank. While terming their claim as “bogus” Mr Kumar said, “I wonder how can one say that figures for certain caste or religious group have been inflated when there was no caste survey done in the country ever”. “When all this (caste survey) process was started in 1930, the British were ruling the country. Later caste survey was stopped and we’ve been demanding for holding a nationwide caste census but it was not done”, added Mr Kumar, while referring to the Opposition BJP members in the House he further said, “you all should remember that we, all nine political parties, had mutually agreed that it should happen and we had gone to meet the Prime Minister with our demand”.
Meanwhile, Political analyst Ajay Kumar told The Hindu that ahead of the Lok Sabha poll, the caste survey report and chief minister Nitish Kumar’s proposal to increase the reservation quota from 50% to 65% “appears to be his last effort to return to power”. “He (Mr Kumar) will use it (caste survey report and increase in quota) in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll next year and the state assembly elections in 2025 for his advantage. It will be interesting to see how the Opposition BJP will counter this clever move of Nitish Kumar in the state”, Mr Ajay Kumar said. “This caste survey will boomerang to Mr Kumar in the poll. Let the time come”, said poll-strategist-turned-political activist Prashant Kishor who is touring across the state under his Jan Suraaj (people’s good governance) campaign.
