On Monday (October 2), Bihar officially released the caste census report revealing that approximately 63% of the state population falls in the backward and extremely backward classes. The Additional Chief Secretary of Bihar, Vivek Kumar Singh made this announcement stating that the total population of Bihar is more than 13 crores.
As per the Caste Census report, 27% state population comes under the backward classes while 36% falls in the extremely backward classes categorisation.
Addressing a press briefing, Bihar’s Additional Chief Secretary Vivek Kumar Singh said, “The report of the caste-based census conducted in Bihar has been released. Backward class in Bihar is 27.13%. The extremely backward class is 36.01%, General category is 15.52%. The total population of Bihar is more than 13 crores.”
The report of the caste-based census conducted in Bihar has been released. Backward class in Bihar is 27.13%. The extremely backward class is 36.01%, General category is 15.52%. The total population of Bihar is more than 13 crores: Vivek Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary,… pic.twitter.com/SWlpjyWF9C
— ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2023
According to the Caste Survey, Yadavs account for almost 14.27% of the total state population. Among the OBCs, they are the largest in terms of population. Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav hails from this OBC subgroup. The Kurmis, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar belongs to the community, make up 2.87 percent of the population.
The order to conduct a caste census in the state was given last year. Subsequently, the decision of the Bihar government was challenged in the Patna High Court. Appearing for NGO ‘Youth for Equality’, Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan challenged the survey submitting that the exercise was an infringement of people’s right to privacy.
However, the High Court dismissed the pleas challenging the decision of the state government to conduct a caste-based survey in the state. This paved the way for a caste-based survey in the state.
