Earlier this month, the Bihar government published the ‘Bihar Caste-based Survey 2022’. The survey data showed that extremely backward classes (EBCs) and other backward classes (OBCs) together made up nearly 63% of the 13-crore population, making them the largest caste group in the State.
The Congress has made a demand for a caste survey a core element of its poll campaign in the forthcoming assembly elections, and the INDIA alliance is likely to do the same in the 2024 general elections as well.
So, what does the data of the Bihar caste survey reveal? Is the caste survey only about removing the existing caps on reservations? Is it likely that a Mandal 2.0 moment will emerge in opposition to ‘Kamandal’ politics?