Analysis: Bihar's Caste Survey And Its Intractable Poverty Challenge

Governments and netas since independence have failed Bihar. More than a third - 34 per cent - of families in Bihar live in poverty, surviving on Rs 6,000 a month or less, according to a detailed report of the caste survey tabled in the Bihar Assembly yesterday. Forty-two per cent of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households are among the poorest. This socio-economic data is even more appalling in a caste-driven Bihar where politics has revolved around Dalit and OBC (Other Backward Classes) votes after 1990.

The report also reflects considerable poverty among the upper castes - more than 25 per cent. The poverty ratio was surprisingly high for the Bhumihars (27.58 per cent) that are supposed to be the biggest land-owning caste of Bihar.

In 1990, Bihar was the poorest and most backward with the lowest literacy rate in the country; in 2023, it remains the same. In this year's NITI Aayog report on the multidimensional poverty index, Bihar stayed on top for the "highest proportion of multi-dimensionally poor people". Along with the lowest per capita income, Bihar continues to be the worst performer in maternal and child health, housing, water and sanitation, school attendance, electricity, assets and numerous other human development parameters.

"Historical legacies like the zamindari system and fiscal equalisation, have influenced Bihar's economic landscape and have been responsible for underdevelopment in Bihar. Low human capital and lack of education and health are also responsible for low incomes. Together with this, Bihar could not reap the benefits of the economic liberalisation in the 1990s and hence its workforce remained primarily dependent on agriculture," says Ashmita Gupta, member-secretary, Asian Development Research Institute, Patna.

"Hence, Bihar is one of the most underdeveloped states in India stuck in a low growth and high poverty regime. There is no new information (in the survey) as any ranking of states shows Bihar rank lowest," she asserts.

The survey indicates Bihar's economy has been growing steadily at an average of 10 per cent or more for over a decade, but its citizens remained mired in poverty. So where did all the growth and economic prosperity go?

Another important finding of the survey is that more than 50 lakh people from Bihar were living outside the state for livelihood or better education opportunities. The lack of non-farm employment opportunities in Bihar has compelled a large number of migrant workers to engage in short term, casual and precarious employment in other states. They live and work in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. Back home, in their villages, their families suffer from low and irregular remittances as well as political exclusion.

The caste survey says only 22.67 per cent of respondents have studied till Class 5, but this increases to 24.31 per cent for people from Scheduled Castes and 24.65 per cent for those from Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs). Only 5.76 per cent Scheduled Castes have finished Grades 11 and 12. The Union Education Ministry too had highlighted that Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in India at 61.8 per cent (data shared in Lok Sabha in 2023).

Bihar's education continues to be in a shambles. Primary education has only worsened in the last 30 years. The state government has introduced a contract system for recruiting primary teachers, compromising talent and quality. Teachers with fake degrees have been employed in government schools. University and college teachers don't get their salary on time. Mushrooming below par private universities further cheat students in the name of education. According to the latest report of the Bihar Economic Survey, dropouts are a major problem that pervades all stages of education.

In the past, the Bihar government would shoot down and discredit any negative data from central and other agencies. This time it is the state government's caste survey, carried out ostensibly to gain electoral mileage in the coming Lok Sabha and state elections. The government chooses not to care about the adverse impact as it seeks Dalit, OBC and EBC votes.

The caste-based political discourse in Bihar has had such power over the years that citizens have been blind to chronic poverty, which seems to be irresolvable. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who created the EBC constituency in the caste survey, hopes to benefit from the new category as none of the major political parties has a state chief that belongs to this group.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has already announced plans to conduct caste-based headcounts if the opposition INDIA bloc comes to power. The alliance also feels that a demand for a caste survey will burnish its "pro-poor" and "pro-social justice" credentials. The BJP has been making inroads among the EBC and Dalit communities over the last few years and the opposition is trying to win back lost ground.

"Caste is a medieval identity. The sooner it is dispensed with, the better. It is ironic that even the Left, which never spoke about caste but always took up issues of class, is now talking about caste. Even BJP leaders are talking more about caste. Congress too is openly talking about making caste a national agenda. None of the parties are giving any hope of socio-economic development. Eighty per cent of social injustice can be eradicated by addressing the question of economic injustice. Social reforms can further take care of solving the remaining twenty per cent," says Professor N K Choudhary, former Head of Economics at the Patna University.

"This is a turning point in Indian politics. Nitish Kumar's continuation as Chief Minister with his caste - Kurmi - forming just three per cent of the population, will be difficult. At the national level, the BJP would counter this narrative of caste with religion and nothing will change on the ground in Bihar."

Alas, neither mass leaders nor political parties in Bihar have development on their agenda. Caste politics has reaped dividends for parties since the 1990s because it appeals easily to masses who, in the absence of prosperity, feel great pride in their caste.

(Bharti Mishra Nath is a senior journalist).

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.