Politics
Bihar: Caste Census Set To Begin On 7 January
Swarajya Staff
Dec 29, 2022, 06:20 PM | Updated 06:20 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Bihar government is set to start a caste census in the state from 7 January, reports say. The exercise which has already generated much controversy is expected to end by May.
The census will be conducted by the General Administration department, with the District Magistrate as the nodal head. It will be conducted in digital format.
The state has already allocated Rs 500 crore for the exercise and around 3.5 lakh government employees are being trained at the district level to carry out the exercise.
The census is to be conducted in two phases, with the first phase including mapping out of areas and identifying the number of families. In the second phase, which is to begin in February, surveys will be conducted on details of family members, annual income, caste, and other aspects.
The caste list will be provided by the district administration and persons will have to self-declare their caste from the list. In case their caste is not found in the government's list, they will have to present a caste certificate, or present themselves before the Block Development Officer (BDO) to clarify their caste.
The center and state have been at loggerheads over the issue in the last few months. However, while the central leadership has denied possibilities of including caste in the next census, state BJP unit has reluctantly agreed to it.
Questions are being raised on the constitutional and legal validity of the exercise, since census is a part of the union list under the seventh schedule of the Constitution.
While Maharashtra, Odisha and Chattisgarh are already in the process of conducting a caste-based census, Karnataka had conducted a similar exercise but the data was never made public by successive governments.
Moreover, the census is being seen as an exercise in reviving Mandal politics, ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, by caste-based parties with fledgling political fortunes.
However, the resulting data might open up a Pandora's box, and show which communities have garnered the most benefits out of three decades of social engineering in the state.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.