The Central government’s decision to not hold caste-based census except for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the population census 2021 is being strongly opposed by ruling Janata Dal (United) and opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar. These two have hinted at launching a stir in favour of a caste-based enumeration of population.
Two days back, Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai told parliament that caste-wise enumeration of population will not be done except in the case of SCs and STs during Census, an exercise undertaken every 10 years, which got delayed in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
“We are disappointed and pained by this decision. Caste-wise enumeration is necessary as it would only help in identifying the backwardness in economically and socially weaker groups among backward classes and extend them benefits of welfare schemes. We will press hard for it and not sit silently,” said K C Tyagi, national general secretary of the JD(U).
Tyagi said his party, a constituent in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar, will discuss the matter at the party’s national executive meeting in New Delhi on July 31st and is likely to pass a resolution seeking a caste census. “Chief minister Nitish Kumar will be attending the national executive meeting where we will discuss this matter. We will also bring a resolution to press for a caste-based census,” he added.
Tyagi also underlined that there was divergence on key issues among NDA constituents in the absence of a common minimum programme
Incidentally, leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Thursday appeared to be on the same page with the JD(U) as he termed Centre’s decision “unjustified”. RJD insiders said the party is planning to start an agitation to press for caste-based census in coming weeks.
Tejashwi, who is in New Delhi for the past few days, said that RJD had long campaigned for caste census as a tool to extend benefits of welfare schemes to the backward classes and asked if it will be possible to allocate funds to welfare schemes targeting the backward classes if their population was not known.
“If in census, there can be count of animals, cycles, scooters and enumeration of population practicing different religions, why can’t there be a count of backward classes in each religious group? It would only take one additional column in the census sheet for [this] enumeration. There will be no additional load on the public exchequer,” Tejashwi said, to buttress his point.
He said it was difficult to understand why Centre was not keen on caste-based census when the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in alliance with JD(U) in the NDA government in Bihar, had supported the resolution for a caste-based census passed in both Houses of Bihar assembly.
Nawal Kishore Choudhary, a political analyst, feels the rejection of caste-based census by the Centre will have wide political ramification in state polity.
He said the issue provides an opportunity to the RJD to unify backward classes putting pressure on the JD(U), which seeks to champion the cause of the backward classes and it will also test JD(U)’s ties with the BJP.
“Caste census is an important agenda for regional outfits like the JD(U) and the RJD which have played identity politics [in the] post Mandal era since the 1990s. Now, there could be demand from the rank and file in the JD(U) for caste census. The party also has to see its equations with the BJP. So, there is pressure on it. The JD(U) has taken a different stand on population control legislation recently,” he said.
From the 1990s onward, post implementation of Mandal commission report on job reservations, state’s politics has revolved on polarising backward classes, with ailing RJD chief Lalu Prasad playing social justice card during his party’s tenure in power till 2005. Since then Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has consolidated his support base among backward classes by wooing extremely backward classes (EBCs) and also categorizing all 22 sub-castes among scheduled castes as Maha Dalits.