Bihar caste survey (2023)
Topic: Gender, Religion and Caste in Politics · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Bihar caste survey was a count of castes carried out by the Bihar state government. Its results came out in 2023. It found that Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) were 36.01% of the state's people and Backward Classes (BCs) were 27.12%, so together they made up about 63%. The survey matters because the national Census has not counted all castes since 1931. Bihar showed that a state could collect this data itself.
Example
The Patna High Court upheld the survey in August 2023. Bihar then raised its reservation to 65%, and in June 2024 the same court struck down that rise. Other figures from the survey: SCs 19.65%, STs 1.68% and unreserved 15.52%.
Don't confuse with
- Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC): a nationwide survey run by the central government. Its caste data were never published, while Bihar released its caste figures.
- Census 2027: the national Census, which will count all castes after a decision of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on 30 April 2025.