Patna: The Bihar government on Monday released a data after a state-wide caste-based survey, which indicated that backward classes form 63% of population and Brahmins 15% in the state.
Out of Bihar’s extensive population exceeding 13 crores, the breakdown is as follows: 27.13% belong to the backward class, 36.01% fall under the extremely backward class, and 15.52% are categorized as part of the general category, as disclosed by Vivek Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary of Bihar.
The survey also stated that Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, were the largest in terms of population, accounting for 14.27% of the total.
Release of this data comes as the Supreme Court hears petitions challenging a Patna High Court’s August judgement that paved the way for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s controversial “caste-based headcount”.
In August, after the exercise was completed, Kumar said the survey would be “beneficial for all” and will enable the development of various sections of society, including the deprived.
Savarnas are people who fall within the caste system: in the four main castes of Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. Avarnas are people who were not even given a place in the caste system. These are the outcasts and Dalits.
Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his support for the Congress party’s proposal for a caste-based census across the country, highlighting its potential benefits for all segments of society.
Even BJP unit in Bihar endorsed a resolution in favor of such a census initiated by the state government. However, there was no response from the GoI.
Kumar has said the caste-based survey – a topic that has divided the country’s political landscape, even to the extent of creating rifts within parties – would identify areas that need development.
