Finally, ‘Real’ Caste Census Begins in Bihar

Patna: The second phase of the caste census in Bihar began on Saturday, despite the potential boycott by thousands of contractual schoolteachers, locally known as Niyojit Shikshak. On the first day, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his family members, including his son Nishant Kumar, elder brother, sister-in-law, and others, disclosed their caste to enumerators. Kumar visited his residence in Bakhtiyarpur, a small urban centre in the Patna district, approximately 50 km away from Bihar's capital, Patna, where he was born and raised.

The BJP, once an ally of Kumar, has been demanding for years that the name of Bakhtiyarpur be changed. Recently, leaders of the saffron party announced that they would rename the town if they were to come to power.

"I have visited my house in Bakhtiyarpur, where my son has already arrived. My brother and his family are also present for this occasion. I hope the census will be completed quickly as many people from different states are eager to see how the caste census is being conducted in Bihar," Kumar told the mediapersons at Bakhtiyarpur.

The ongoing caste census in Bihar is probably the first such exercise in the country; it is especially significant ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Mahagathbandhan government led by Kumar had conducted the first phase of the caste “survey” in January 2023 on its own after the Centre ruled out such a census in the country two years ago.

The two-phased census is seen as part of the social justice agenda of Mahagathbandhan. It is likely to help the grand coalition consolidate its social support base by fulfilling a major promise to OBCs and EBCs.

Both Kumar, who is the de facto chief of the ruling JD(U), and another major ruling ally, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, are pro-Mandal and have been demanding a caste census in Bihar since 2015, where caste plays a decisive role in politics. They have repeatedly claimed that the caste census data will help uplift deprived people as development plans would be made based on fresh socio-economic data.

Kumar has time and again expressed his support for caste census by saying that a caste-based census exercise should at least be conducted once. It would help to know the number of people belonging to different poor and marginalised castes in other regions. The last caste census was conducted in 1931 before India gained independence from the British.

In the first phase, enumerators marked houses across the state and collected the number of households in all 38 districts. But in the second phase, they will collect caste and socio-economic data of each household or family. Enumerators have been directed to pay door-to-door visits for this enormous task on the ground.

According to officials of the General Administration Department (GAD), the nodal agency for the ongoing caste census, despite the heatwave-like conditions, thousands of enumerators began working on the second phase of the caste census.

Thousands of officials are in the process of collecting information about the caste, subcastes, and socioeconomic profiles of each of the 2.92 crore families by May 15. Finally, the information will be uploaded to the government's official website.

Nearly 4 lakh employees, including senior government officers, clerks, contractual schoolteachers, MGNREGA and Anganwadi workers, and ASHAs, have been engaged to cover the estimated population of 12.70 crores staying in around 2.58 crore households in urban and rural areas across the state, as per the General Administration Department. Several associations of contractual school teachers, who have been protesting against the new teacher recruitment rules of 2023, threatened to boycott caste census work if the government failed to withdraw or amend the rules.

Under the Bihar State School Teachers (Appointment, Transfer, Disciplinary Action and Service Condition) Rules, 2023, all schoolteachers would be appointed under one standardized process and have a status equivalent to state government employees with separate district cadres.

Contractual teachers have been opposing the rules on the grounds that those currently employed in schools and candidates who had cracked the teacher's eligibility test (TET) are likely to have to retake a centralized exam to be conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).