The Bihar legislature unanimously passed a resolution agreeing to a caste census.
On October 2, the Bihar government published the ‘Bihar Caste-based Survey 2022’.
The Bihar government in June,2022 issued notification for conducting a caste survey on its own.
What’s in the report
The survey shows that the EBCs with 112 castes comprise the largest chunk of the population.
EBCs with 112 castes comprise 36.01% share of population.
OBCs are the second largest contingent of the population.
The Yadavs, with a 14.26% share, is the dominant caste in the OBC group.
The SC population is pegged at 19.65% .
The general unreserved population is 15.52%.
Will the report lead to an increase in the reservation
Yes, the reservation quota will be increased in the State as per the population proportion as per the survey.
The census report is likely to pave the way for the political demand for doing away with the 50% ceiling on reservation imposed by the Supreme Court.
Political experts believe that the caste survey report would weaken “hindutva forces”.
The survey report has triggered a national debate over caste composition and its share
Will this lead to more welfare schemes?
The survey report would definitely force political parties to announce and initiate more welfare schemes for the poor and marginalized sections of society.
The government is yet to release the socio-economic profile of the people surveyed.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who had carved out the EBCs from OBCs under his ‘social engineering plan’ to remain in power.
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