Patna HC’s Green Signal To Bihar’s Caste Survey Comes As Shot In Arm For Ruling Mahagathbandhan

The Patna High Court's green signal to Bihar's caste survey is being construed as a massive shot in the arm for the state's ruling Mahagathbandhan.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathy Tuesday (1 August) rejected a bunch of petitions against the survey that was stopped by the High Court midway in its second round in May this year.

The division bench upheld the caste survey initiated by the state government last year as "perfectly valid" and "initiated with due competence".

The first round of survey was conducted between 7 and 21 January this year with thousands of surveyors going door to door to enumerate caste, income and other details of lakhs of families.

It was during the second round of the survey that started on 15 April (and was supposed to end by 15 May) that the HC ordered a stay after petitions were filed challenging the survey.

The division bench of the HC has now said: "We find the action of the state to be perfectly valid, initiated with due competence, with the legitimate aim of providing development with justice, as proclaimed in the address to both Houses, and the actual survey to have neither exercised nor contemplated any coercion to divulge the details. The survey had not violated the rights of the individual, especially since it is furtherance of a compelling public interest, which in effect is the legitimate state interest. We dismiss the writ petitions".

The issue of conducting a caste survey had emerged as a major point of friction between the Union and state governments. While the RJD, JD(U) and other partners of the Mahagathbandhan had been demanding that the Union Government conduct a nationwide caste survey, the BJP has been opposed to such a survey.

With the Union Government refusing to carry out such a census-the last one was conducted in 1931— the Bihar government went ahead and decided to conduct its own caste survey.

That was challenged on the grounds that the Union Government is the only authority to conduct such a survey and that the data collected during the survey could be misused.

But rejecting those arguments, the HC division bench said: "The state governments cannot wait on their haunches for the Central government to carry out the Census and provide it with the details so as to ensure affirmative action within the state. The state government is empowered to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward class of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which necessarily is not confined to an affirmative action but essentially is an upliftment of such socially and educationally backward communities so as to ensure due recognition and representation in society".

But the HC had, on 4 May this year, stopped the survey by observing that it was actually "a census in the garb of a survey" and that the power to carry out such a census rests exclusively with the Union Government under the Census Act, 1948.

While the petitioners who had mounted a legal challenge said they would go to the Supreme Court, the Bihar government initiated steps Tuesday itself to resume the survey.

The state general administration department issued a notification ordering the immediate resumption of the survey.

Political Implications Of The HC Order:

The ruling Mahagathbandhan in the state lost no time in celebrating the Patna HC order.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RID) chief Lalu Yadav said: "This will open the door for prosperity of the poor. After the survey, their economic conditions will be better known and on that basis, the government will plan schemes for their development".

Deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav said the survey will yield authentic, credible and scientific data which will be of greatest benefit to OBCS, EBCS and the poor among all classes.

Terming the survey as a "revolutionary step in the direction of economic justice", Tejaswi Yadav criticised the BJP for its reluctance to conduct a nationwide caste survey.

The Janata Dal (United) and the Congress also hailed the HC order and blamed the BJP for trying to derail the survey.

State BJP leaders were guarded in their comments. State party president Samrat Chaudhary rejected the criticism that the BJP was against the caste-based enumeration. "We only had some reservations on the modalities of the enumeration process," he said.

Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, who is the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, told Swarajya that the Nitish Kumar government was responsible for the delay in conducting the survey. "The government could not project the issue properly before the High Court and that's why the stay order was issued. We are for the survey," Sinha asserted.

But given the Union Government's steadfast refusal to conduct such a survey across the nation, the Mahagathbandhan partners are planning to launch a vigorous campaign to highlight the saffron party's opposition.

"We will tell people how the BJP is completely opposed to the survey and wants to derail it through the Courts. This is a welfare measure aimed at the backward communities. We will expose the hollowness of the BJP's false concern for the backwards classes," deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav told Swarajya.

"The BJP professes love for backward classes and claims it is doing a lot for their welfare. The BJP highlights that Prime Minister Modi is from a backward class. But when it comes to doing something concrete for the backward communities, the BJP exposes its true colour as a Manuwadi party," Yadav added.

Janata Dal (United) national president Lalan Singh said that his party, in association with other Mahagathbandhan partners, will launch a political campaign against the BJP on the issue of caste survey.

Observers feel that the caste survey can alter the political dynamics in Bihar. "The survey will definitely reveal that many sections are still very backward and lagging behind. That will trigger demands for raising the quota limit for these backward communities. The upper and dominant castes will oppose that demand. That will set a completely new political narrative in Bihar," said political scientist Yogendra Kumar.

Political observer Arvind Majhi, who had been associated with the CPI(ML) in the past, told Swarajya: "The Mahagathbandhan will use the survey to mobilise the backward classes. The anti-BJP camp will paint the BJP as anti-backward because of its opposition to the caste survey".

But the BJP is confident that such a campaign will not work. "Everyone knows that we are the only party that is genuinely interested and works hard for the development of all sections of society. The innumerable welfare measures initiated by Prime Minister Modi for the benefit of socially and economically backward sections of society are there for all to see," said state BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary.