No nationwide caste census since independence, limited data available

There was limited caste data in the public domain before Bihar’s decision to conduct its own survey. While an official nationwide caste census has not been conducted since Independence, numbers collected by private and government enti­ties as part of other data collection exercises provide some insights.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) through its Consumer Pyramids Household Survey collects information about consumption patterns, including on the current finan­cial condition of households compared to a year ago.
 

According to the data, the upper-caste segment was less affected during the pandemic, while Scheduled Castes (SCs) remained among the slowest to bounce back. This has also meant that those at the bottom of the caste hierarchy are the least hopeful about the future.

Caste has again emerged as a big public issue with Bihar’s survey results, released in parts over October and November. 

Bihar has fertile grounds for caste to emerge as an electoral issue. According to the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), which was conducted in 2019-21, the state has a higher share of SC and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the population compared with national figures.
 

Bihar also has fewer opportunities for employment. Arou­nd 8.5 per cent of the state’s workers have a regular wage or salaried job. This is the lowest compared even to states that are seen to be laggards in development. 

The Bihar data showed that 43.9 per cent of the SC com­munity earned below Rs 6,000 per month. The Bihar Assembly has passed a Bill to increase overall caste-based reservations.
 

It is not just income, available data shows that those lower down in the caste hierarchy also tend to have fe­­w­er wealthy people. A higher share of both the SC and Sched­u­led Tribe population is in the lowest wealth quintile.
 

The opportunity for advancement through education also shows a caste divide. The median years of schooling are low for those from the more marginalised sections.