Modi govt's caste census in pipeline | What Karnataka, Telangana and poll-bound Bihar's surveys said

The BJP-led NDA government in the Centre on Wednesday sprung a surprise announcement for caste enumeration in the next census and got the opposition talking. While the Narendra Modi-led government hopes to blunt a key plank of the opposition, including in poll-bound Bihar where the agenda of backward empowerment remains resonant.

In the wake of the upcoming Bihar elections later this year, the decision by the Centre also ends up highlighting the fact that the Nitish Kumar-led eastern state had conducted its own caste census. Along with Bihar, Telangana, and recently Karnataka government had also brought out its findings of a caste survey. Here's a brief look at the findings.

Karnataka Socio-Economic & Educational survey

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.

Karnataka govt earlier in April brought out its findings from the survey it did during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure in 2015. It said seventy per cent of Karnataka’s population belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, which includes Muslims, according to the Socio-Economic & Educational Survey, or caste census, whose findings could potentially shake up the state’s political landscape. A total of 5.98 crore citizens were covered under the survey carried out in 2015. Of them, 4.16 crore, or 70 per cent, come under various OBC categories, according to the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes’ report.

At 1.52 crore, or 25 per cent, the SC/STs form the largest social bloc in Karnataka. They are followed by Muslims, the lone occupants under OBC Category-2B, with a population of 75.25 lakh.

Bihar caste survey- 2023

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The Bihar government released findings of its caste survey that put OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) at a whopping 63.13 per cent of the state's population of 13.07 crore and the upper castes at 15.52 per cent. The survey was published in October 2023.

Among the backward classes, EBCs accounted for more than one-third of the population or 36.01 per cent (4.70 crore) while the rest of the OBCs counted 27.12 per cent (3.54 crore). The Scheduled Castes or Dalits were pegged at 19.65 per cent (2.56 crore) while the Scheduled Tribes accounted for 1.68 per cent (21.99 lakh). Finally, the general category accounted for 2.02 crore people, the caste survey findings showed.

Among the castes, the Yadavs counted the highest with 14.26 per cent or 1.86 crore. Brahmins accounted for 3.65 per cent or 47.81 lakh, while another upper caste community, the Rajputs, were pegged at 45.10 lakh or 3.45 per cent.

Telangana caste survey

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy.

The Telangana Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution in February, urging the Centre to emulate the comprehensive household socio-economic, employment, political, and caste survey conducted by the state government.

Revanth Reddy made a statement on the survey conducted by the Congress government.

He outlined the details of the survey. Referring to the data of an Intensive Household Survey (IHS) conducted during the previous BRS government, he said the population of Muslims according to the IHS was 11 per cent, while it grew to 12.56 per cent as per the caste survey.

The population of backward classes according to IHS was 40 per cent, while it is 46.25 per cent as per the latest survey.

It is the population of Other Castes (OC) which declined from 21 per cent of IHS to 15 per cent (including OCs in Muslims) in the caste survey, he said.

According to the caste survey, Backward Classes, excluding Muslim minorities, form the largest group, constituting 46.25 per cent of Telangana’s total 3.70 crore population.

The BC population is followed by Scheduled Castes at 17.43 per cent, Scheduled Tribes at 10.45 per cent, Backward Classes among Muslims at 10.08 per cent, Other Castes at 13.31 per cent, and OCs among Muslims at 2.48 per cent.

(With inputs from PTI)