Bihar Caste Census: On the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the Bihar State government released caste-based census reports. The State Development commissioner shared the report in a press conference. He discussed the report thoroughly discussing various important points.
According to the report, the total population of Bihar is more than 13 crores, Out of which the largest populations are of Hindus (81.99%) and Muslims (17.70%).
There are other groups too, the Christians (0.05%), Sikhs (0.011%), Buddhists (0.0851%), and Jains (0.0096%). This data is based on different religious groups.
Apart from religion, the commission also shared data on the basis of caste. They are the unreserved (16%), which means they aren't provided with any kind of reservation.
Some of the most common castes in Bihar are Yadavs (14%), Rajputs (3.4%), Kurmis (2.8%), Brahmins (3.6%) Kushwahas (4.2%), Telis (2.8%) and Bhumihars (2.8%). Musahars are a very poor and marginalized caste, and they make up only 3% of the population.
Referring to this data, the Extremely backward castes are the largest social group in Bihar comprising 36%, and the other Backward Classes constitute 27.13%.
This data also reveals that the Yadav population shares a majority of 14.27%. The Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejasvi Yadav belongs to this same community.
The BJP has accused the Bihar government of using this survey for their political gains in the coming 2024 Lok Sabha elections and that they might fuel tensions between the castes and communities.
Taking to Twitter (X), Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar said, “Today, on the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the data of caste-based census conducted in Bihar has been published. Many congratulations to the entire team engaged in the work of caste-based enumeration!”
