A Response to Bihar’s 2023 caste census
Caste based enumeration of the population continued till 1931 after its introduction by the British in the late 19th century. It was completely put on halt after 1947 over the affirmations that a nationwide census would reaffirm caste consciousness in the people and further accentuate the divisions in society; a rhetoric that is still used in the right-wing Hindu politics of the Sangh parivar. This conveniently ignores their own divisive politics and polarisation of the population. No government since the “halt” has come forward to conduct it at the national level. Report released by the Bihar government on 2nd October this year catapulted the deeper implications of caste in the mainstream discourses in India. The report shows that the extremely backward classes and the other backwards classes together add up to more than 63% of the population, making them the largest caste groups in the region. The EBCs (36.01%) comprise 112 castes, standing as the largest chunk of Bihar’s population while the OBCs comprise 29 castes making them the second largest dominant caste group. The Yadavs are the dominant among the OBCs making about 14.26% of the population. The Scheduled Castes share 19.65% while the forward castes constitute 15.52% of the population; it is this 15% which rules Bihar. The statistical report published is going to bring forth welfare reforms to increase representation of the majority of the population of Bihar which is composed of the economically weaker sections.
These statistics tell us that Caste is a significant factor in the Indian polity and will have implications electorally or in government policies. It will also increase the demand for more political representation for more populous castes. There would also be a collective push to remove the 50% ceiling on reservations.
A day after the release of the Bihar caste census, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposed the survey stating that it divides the people on the basis of caste and the poor should always be given priority. As we have witnessed BJP’s bulldozer raj where massive slum evictions took place in Delhi and in UP, Modi’s remarks are not only farcical but rather a response to the probable threat the caste survey has to his right-wing divisive Hindutva identity politics. Any pronounced support for a caste census, and consequently, quota politics, goes against the Sangh Parivar’s samrasta line.
What could the Bihar Caste Census mean for the coming Lok Sabha election and how could it possibly create a political consciousness in India? Does the ‘domino effect’ felt in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra mean something with regards to the very accessibility of the caste discourse in India? The answer to these questions rely heavily on the delivery of a thorough report of the socio-economic backgrounds of the surveyed demographic. Were this to fail, the masses may fall back into the long-lived rhetoric. One that has been in the control of many hands; from colonial India, to Rajiv Gandhi, and now finally in the godi of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Needless to say, there is duality in the approach taken by the BJP. They used the ‘fallibility’ of the report as their primary defence when regurgitating the issue to the masses; that is, the possibility that it would end up reinforcing caste divisions (that the Modi government would have us believe lie solely in Hindu society). This is not the first time the right wing discourse has narrativised the issue as an “attack” on the “broader issue” of religion in an attempt to appease the smaller ones; namely, the Muslim minorities.
In 2019, the Modi Government amended the constitution to grant reservations to the upper caste families in education and employment, with annual income <8 lakhs; however, this is where Modi’s duality lies when talking about Caste awareness. The BJP has exhibited a tendency to use the ‘creamy’ OBC castes as their faces while conveniently ignoring the other strata. A similar attitude is not found in dealing with the upper three castes. This can be interpreted in two ways. Either, he believes that the Brahminical society is immune to falling into the ‘fallacies’ of caste divisions, reinforcing the stereotypes associated with upper castes. Or, he believes that the “upper castes”, the category that divides the population the most despite being a shocking minority deserve this concession merely for being in their position. An approach to aid the financially challenged is indeed reasonable, but why should such a reservation exclude the vast majority of the population that constitutes the OBC and SCs, that almost accurately populate the backward class-caste intersection? Of course, such a conclusion cannot be drawn till a good understanding of socio-economic conditions in the Caste Census reaches the general public. These need to be pointed out nevertheless.
The potential of this caste census lies not in confirming the caste realities in India but in waking the backward castes up to it. The renowned scholar, Anand Teltumbde remarks that the data released by the Bihar government will make them realise who the culprit is. For too long, this Brahminical state has used backward castes as their foot soldiers. Gujarat 2002 which catapulted BJP into the mainstream is a prime example of this. In this background, the comments of the BJP on the caste census report sound hollow to say the least.
