Bihar: Politics Over Caste-based Census Heats up; Statewide Protest by RJD on Saturday

Patna: The demand for a caste-based Census exercise in 2021 is set to heat up politics in Bihar.

While the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is gearing up to stage a state-wide protest on August 7, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, has also sought a caste-based Census and is eagerly awaiting a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an appointment.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is also the leader of Opposition in the Assembly, is set to take to streets on Saturday in support of a caste-based Census by launching a new campaign to boost the pro-Mandal brand of politics, symbolised by his father and party chief, Lalu Prasad.

A day ahead of his party protest, Tejashwi made it clear in his tweet on Friday that RJD will fight for the fulfilment of the demand of a caste-based Census.

Tejashwi Yadav
@yadavtejashwi
क़ामयाबी की राह पर आगे बढ़ना है तो इस नाकामयाब सरकार से अपने हक़ के लिए लड़ना है।

हर जीवन का वंदन हो। हर जीवन के हक़ और अधिकार के लिए मरते दम तक हर लड़ाई लड़ेंगे और जीतेंगे।

करे के बा…लड़े के बा…जीते के बा

RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said that party leaders, workers and supporters will stage protests at all district headquarters and will submit a memorandum for caste-based Census to the district authorities to forward it to the BJP-led Central government.

RJD got a readymade issue last week after Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, told the Lok Sabha that the government had decided that there would be no Census of caste, other than the enumeration of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) populations. Rai, a senior BJP leader from Bihar, who belongs to a powerful OBC (Other Backward Classes) community, is seen to be moving along the Centre's line that is looking to dilute the issue in a state known to be highly caste-ridden.

Soon after Rai’s statement in Parliament, Tejashwi said his party had been fighting for a caste-based Census exercise for a long time and woudl continue to do so. In a series of tweets, the RJD leader said his party would take forward Lalu Prasad’s fight.

"We want a caste-based Census and will not move an inch from Laluji's stand on it. Demand for a caste-based census is a fight for the majority population belonging to backward, marginalised and poor sections of society," he said.

Tejashwi's move is being seen as a political strategy to strengthen his social support base among OBCs, Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) and dalits.

The RJD has repeatedly demanded that caste-based data from the SECC (Socio-Economic & Caste Census) done in 2011 be made public by the Centre. While the socio economic part of this survey was released by the Modi government, the caste part has been withheld. Earlier, the United Progressive Alliance government, too, had delayed release of this data.

Lalu Prasad, who is undergoing medical treatment in Delhi after being granted bail in the fodder scam case, has been consistently demanding a caste-based Census. Since 2015, Prasad has also been demanding that data from SECC 2011 be made public to "ensure the empowerment of all those lagging behind in development."

In view of the growing demand for a caste-based Census, Nitish Kumar came out in public on Thursday, saying he had written to PM Modi seeking an appointment for an all-party delegation to discuss the issue.

Earlier, Nitish Kumar appealed to the BJP-led Central government to reconsider its decision of not going on for a caste-based Census.

A senior leader of Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal (United), said that if the Central government does not reconsider its decision, the Chief Minister would go ahead and conduct a caste-based Census in Bihar on its own.

Two other allies of BJP-led NDA in Bihar -- Hindustan Awam Party and Vikassheel Insaan Party -- have also supported Nitish Kumar’s demand for a caste-based Census.

However, Nitish Kumar’s cry in favour of a caste-based Census is widely being seen as a result of the opposition RJD’s aggressive stand against the Centre's decision to not go in for such an exercise. Both, Nitish Kumar’s JD-U and Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD have been 'pro-Mandal', and a caste-based Census is an old demand reiterated by both.

Kumar recalled that the Bihar Legislative Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution for conducting a caste-based Census in February 2019 and in February 2020 and had sent it to the Centre. Notably, the BJP and JD-U had supported the resolution calling for a caste-based Census in 2020. However, the BJP does not look too keen now.

In 2019, the Chief Minister had stressed the need for a caste-based Census, saying that the last such exercise was conducted in 1931. According to him, a caste-based Census will reveal much and that people have a right to know their strengths and weaknesses based on different parameters, including population. The data is expected to expose several myths surrounding the development of backward and marginalised people and help in the formulation of schemes for their socio-economic progress, he said. However, BJP leaders, including Nitish Kumar’s cabinet colleagues, have been saying that a caste-based Census may result in creating social tension.