When Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the decision to conduct a caste census in the state a few months ago, not only the upper castes but also some of the backward classes strongly opposed it. Some had approached the court against the government's decision. The petition related to the caste census is still before the Supreme Court. Judgment is yet to come. The caste-based census in Bihar is over, regardless of the Supreme Court's decision. Last day, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar published the report as well. Protests have already been raised from many quarters against the report prepared by collecting the statistics of each category in the state. It is alleged that Nitish Kumar is playing a political game ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections through caste census. In any case, following the footsteps of Bihar, the demand for a caste census has risen strongly at the national level. It is interesting that the Congress party, which turned its back on the idea of ​​caste census when it was in power, is at the forefront of this group.

Out of Bihar's population of 13 crores, 36 per cent are extremely backward classes. Most of them are unable to experience the benefits of development. It was found in the survey that the backward classes are about 27 percent. Scheduled castes are 19.65 percent. Scheduled Tribes are only 1.68 percent. Muslims constitute 17.7 percent of the population. Forward classes are only 15.52 percent. This category always has the upper hand in governance. 81.9 percent of the total population are Hindus. There are many other categories, including Christians, but their representation is less than one percent. Among the backward classes, Yadavas are the leading in numbers with 14.26 percent. Kurmis, the community of Chief Minister Nitish, constitute only 2.87 percent.

The socio-economic status of each category has also been collected along with the caste census. 2.64 lakh officials were deputed for data collection in 29 million households. The fact that there are a total of 214 castes in Bihar has also been collected through the census. The Chief Minister has convened a meeting of major parties in the Assembly to discuss the census report. It can be said that Bihar has set an example for the country by completing the caste census in minimum time. It can be expected that this census report will be a basic element in policy formulation in social and administrative fields. It can be hoped that the census report will be the basis for eliminating the inequalities in society and providing due share at all levels of government to the backward sections who are the majority of the people. The caste census in the state was possible only because of the will and determination of the Chief Minister of Bihar. Bihar has been able to complete the caste census, which was viewed with trepidation by many, in a very smooth and effective manner. The importance of conducting a caste census at the national level has come out along with this. It is not understood why people are afraid of the real caste figures coming out, in a country where everything is done on the basis of caste. All parties will have to accept this reality thereupon.