Caste in Bihar: A primer

Caste is a major political differentiator in Bihar. Here's a look at its compositions in the state. The data and analysis are based on surveys and research done by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies

• Until 1962, under the leadership of Bihar's first CM, Srikrishna Sinha, the Congress held sway in the political space. While the party was dominated by the upper castes, other castes/communities, including SCs, supported them
• The period from 1967 to the Emergency (in 1975) saw political turmoil. Land reforms drove out many land-owning castes; it also led to a new land-owning class, mainly consisting of upper Other Backward Classes
• The Emergency excesses were blamed on the Congress, led by CM Jagannath Mishra; Karpoori Thakur led the fractious opposition caste coalition of OBCs and SCs. But this wasn't a successful experiment and Mishra and other upper-caste Congress leaders, with a coalition of upper castes, returned to dominate in the 1980s
• A report on socio-economic backwardness, compiled by former Bihar CM B P Mandal, marked the decline of the Congress and the rise of the Janata Dal in the '90s. As CM, Lalu Prasad took up the issue of socio-economic backwardness as a political slogan. A coalition of backward castes following the 1990 Assembly poll ensured Lalu's sway in the state for more than 10 years.
• The 2000s saw a steady erosion of Lalu and the usurpation of his power by Nitish Kumar under a new caste coalition of all non-Yadav castes, especially the extremely backward ones
• The coming polls will see a caste alliance of the respective bases of Lalu and Nitish, even if it is not a formal one. This will make the election unpredictable and challenging for the BJP