The politics of the EBCs in Bihar

According to the caller caste survey, Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) are a diversified caste radical that marque up 36% of the colonisation of Bihar. When combined unneurotic with the precocious OBCs oregon precocious Backward castes, they signifier the class of Backward Castes, which marque up a combined full of 63% of Bihar’s population. While the authorities of the Backward Castes person dominated the governmental sermon of Bihar astatine slightest since the 1990s, EBCs person been marginalised successful presumption of governmental representation. That is, contempt their numerical significance, their governmental practice successful the Bihar Legislature has hardly ever gone supra the 10% mark.

Composition of the category

Bihar has astir 112 EBCs, besides known arsenic the Most Backward Castes. In Bihar, they are referred to arsenic ‘Annexure-I,’ whereas OBCs are referred to arsenic ‘Annexure-II.’ Annexure-I (the ‘more backward’) includes immoderate 88 Hindu and Muslim castes, immoderate well-known (for example, Dhanuk, Hajjam, Kahar and Mallah castes), portion others considerably little truthful (Gulguha, Jadupatia etc). Annexure-II (‘less backward’) comprises of 30 castes including precocious Backward castes specified arsenic the Kurmis, Koeris, Banias and Yadavs. According to governmental idiosyncratic Harry Blair, galore of these communities, specified arsenic the Barhis, Kandus and Kumhars (as good arsenic immoderate Muslim castes similar Momins and Rayeens), were hard to separate successful presumption of societal and economical backwardness from those successful Annexure-I. However, the Bihar government’s gazetted ordinance successful 1951, followed by the archetypal Backward Classes Commission led by Kaka Saheb Kalelkar successful 1955, helped to place the 837 “most Backward” castes among the full 2,399 Backward Castes successful India. In Bihar, the committee enumerated a full of 127 Hindu and Muslim castes arsenic backward castes, which present basal astatine 112, arsenic per the caste survey conducted successful 2022. Out of the 112 caste groups, 24 castes, similar the Ansari oregon Momins, Rayeen, Shershahbadi, Rangrez, Dhobi, Idrish, Kasai, Nat, and Bhatiyara are Muslim EBCs, besides referred to arsenic Pasmanda Muslims.

Political mobilisation among EBCs

The authorities of Bihar erstwhile seen done the prism of caste tin beryllium divided into respective phases. The signifier of the Congress regularisation successful Bihar was dominated by guardant caste alliances of Brahmin-Bhumihar-Rajput and Kayasthas for a agelong clip aft independence. Although backward caste mobilisation had begun successful Bihar during the crook of the 20th century, done humanities events similar the Triveni Sangh (forging a collaboration betwixt the Kurmis, Koeris and Yadavs) and the Janeyu Andolan (a question wherever backward castes successful Bihar began wearing the ineffable thread to situation upper-caste domination), the proliferation of respective caste associations among precocious Backward castes besides played a salient relation successful their governmental consolidation. This signifier of governmental mobilisation of the backward castes reached a crescendo successful the 1990s. From the Assembly elections of 1990 to 1995 and the Lok Sabha elections of 1991, the fig of backward caste legislators yet outnumbered the fig of precocious caste representatives, a pivotal alteration successful the societal inheritance of politicians successful Bihar, that has since ne'er been overturned.

Former Chief Minister of Bihar, Karpoori Thakur, attributed arsenic the initiator of a ‘Backward Raj’ by Harry Blair, has been credited by respective observers for this societal reconfiguration successful Bihar. Along with the implementation of the Mungeri Lal Commission study (1976), which facilitated reservations for backward castes successful higher acquisition and State authorities jobs, Karpoori Thakur initiated 2 large argumentation decisions which altered the caste dynamics of Bihar’s governmental landscape. First among these was the removal of English connection arsenic a mandatory taxable for people 10 examinations which enabled a ample fig of Hindi mean students from backward castes to get entree to authorities jobs and different opportunities successful higher education. Second was the determination to behaviour section elections astatine the panchayat level successful 1978, which created opportunities for information successful ideology astatine the grassroots level starring to an eventual process of democratisation. Years later, successful his attempts to consolidate EBC enactment for himself, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar besides facilitated specified democratisation by implementing reservations for EBCs (of upto 20%) and women (upto 50%) successful Panchayati Raj Institutions by promulgating the Bihar Panchayati Raj Amendment Act successful 2006. According to a survey by Subhesh Kumar, Nitu Sharan and Srikant Pandey, these reservations allowed the predetermination of astir 1,464 Mukhiyas, 18,901 Gram Panchayat Members, 1,464 Sarpanchs, and 18,900 panchas from the EBC category, allowing them to payment importantly from specified grassroots level information successful democracy.

However, astatine the State level, EBCs continued to beryllium marginalised successful typical electoral politics, arsenic compared to precocious backward OBCs, arsenic the assertion of backward caste dominance has been led by the Yadavs, Kurmis, Koeri and Banias. As pointed retired by Srikant and Prasanna Kumar Choudhary, betwixt 1957 and 1962, EBCs had nary practice successful the Bihar Legislative Assembly. Between 1967 and 1995, determination were 753 MLAs from Yadav, Kurmi, Koeri and Baniya castes (upper OBCS) portion for the aforesaid period, the fig of EBC MLAs successful Bihar was 55. Between 1990 and 2000, the fig of EBC MLAs successful Bihar was betwixt 6 to 16. In 2005, 19 EBC MLAs were elected to the State Assembly, which fell to 17 successful 2010. This fig accrued up to 29 successful 2020; it was besides the archetypal clip erstwhile the stock of EBC MLAs successful the Bihar Assembly went supra 10% of the full MLAs. For a assemblage with a 36% stock successful the State’s population, this is inactive a immense underrepresentation.

Emergence of caller enactment

The heterogenous premix of castes wrong the EBC class poses important challenges to governmental mobilisation. Among the EBCs, lone a fistful of jatis similar Teli, Dhanuk, Badhai, Kumhar (prajapati), Mallah, Nai, Noniya and Kahar (Chandravanshis) person a colonisation betwixt 1-3% of the full colonisation of Bihar, arsenic per the 2022 caste survey. All the different castes wrong the EBC class person a colonisation size of beneath 1%, which makes governmental mobilisation hard successful presumption of numerical consolidation.

The illustration of the Nishad assemblage is simply a bully lawsuit of governmental mobilisation done numerical consolidation. The Nishad assemblage was forged by bringing unneurotic astir 22 castes among the EBCs (such arsenic the Mallah, Noniya and Bind, Kevat jatis), which brought their combined numbers to astir 9.8% of the full colonisation of the State, according to the 2022 caste survey. This makes them a important portion of the EBC clump and highlights their governmental salience successful presumption of electoral support. However, portion the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Mukesh Sahani, has emerged arsenic a cardinal governmental radical representing the interests of the Nishad community, the enactment among the Nishad has been scattered crossed respective parties similar the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) and adjacent Congress. Therefore, the viability of the Nishad community’s electoral interaction among the EBCs is yet to materialise arsenic a consolidated ballot bank.

A adjacent speechmaking of the campaigner nominations for 2025 by assorted governmental parties shows america that EBC practice among the fielded candidates has increased, particularly among determination parties specified arsenic the JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and VIP. Both the Congress and the BJP lag down successful presumption of EBC practice successful distributing their enactment tickets. In fact, a person look among campaigner nominations suggests that among the assorted EBC castes, governmental parties thin to nominate candidates mostly from a fewer cardinal communities similar the Dhanuk, Mallah, Noniya, Teli among Hindu EBCs, and Ansaris oregon Momins among Muslim EBCs.

Long mode to go

Whether it is the assignment of Dhanik Lal Mandal arsenic the archetypal EBC talker of the Bihar Assembly successful 1967, oregon the Rajya Sabha information for Pasmanda person Ali Anwar, oregon adjacent the assignment of Renu Devi arsenic the archetypal EBC Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar successful 2020, the accommodation of EBC politicians by antithetic parties successful Bihar has been mostly symbolic without overmuch structural alteration successful the governmental practice of the community, which remains highly marginalised.

Grassroots empowerment done practice successful section level enactment positions is yet to construe into disposable worldly transformations among the community, which inactive remains entrapped successful poorness and precarity.

Sarthak Bagchi teaches Political Science astatine Ahmedabad University and Ashutosh Kumar Pandey is an autarkic writer based successful Arah, Bihar.