The Bihar government is currently holding a caste census even as a debate on its advisability is on. Political calculations are obviously behind this move by chief minister and JDU chief Nitish Kumar with support from his alliance partner, the RJD. Ideally, the society should rise above considerations of caste, creed, race and religion. At the same time, in a nation where many aspects are decided on the basis of caste, as in the case of reservations to deprived sections of the population, caste cannot be wished away. This is a fact of life and the grip of caste over social life is increasing, rather than decreasing ever since Independence. Caste-based parties are functional and there’s no bar on them. They are wielding power, as is also the case with states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where the prominent regional parties are led by the Yadavs. Evergreen Nitish Kumar who repeatedly held the CM’s post in Bihar also has his mainstay with some backward castes including his own Kurmis. Caste is the basis for several political establishments, either overtly or covertly, across India.
This being so, it needs a clarification as to why the central government has avoided doing a caste-based census and argued against such a step in the Supreme Court. The government may have its own reasons, which should not be ignored either. What it told the court was that this was not a practical proposition, though this had not been elaborated in detail. Moreover, the central government under the UPA II and the two NDA dispensations under Narendra Modi too held back the caste-based data collected during the 2011 Census. An allegation is that the forward communities are wary of such a census as it could lead to provisions for more benefits to the backward communities, who form more than 50 per cent of the population. The BCs, though, are a divided lot and split into different communities that are inimical to each other when it comes to gaining governmental benefits. The Yadavs in UP and Bihar allegedly gained more benefits under the rule of SP and RJD, while other backward communities were largely ignored. This led to the fall of their governments and the BJP stepped in with the promise of “inclusiveness”, meaning mainly the inclusiveness of various Hindu communities.
With due regard to all these, a caste-census is not a bad idea. Other states might follow suit. Facts are sacred and benefits to each segment of the population should not be provided, based on the whims of those who govern the nation.
