BIHAR GOVT RELEASES CASTE SURVEY DATA

Figures show that OBCs and EBCs together account for a whopping 63% of the state's total population.

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The Nitish Kumar in Bihar government on Monday released findings of its much-awaited caste survey which revealed that members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constitute a whopping 63% of the state's total population.

According to the data released here by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, the state's total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the Extremely Backward Classes (36%) were the largest social segment followed by the Other Backward Classes at 27.13%.

The survey also stated that Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, were the largest in terms of the population, accounting for 14.27% of the total.

Dalits, also known as the Scheduled Castes, accounted for 19.65% of the total population in the state, which is also home to nearly 22 lakh (1.68%) people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.

Those belonging to the "unreserved" category, which denotes the proverbial "upper castes" who dominated politics till the Mandal wave of 1990s, comprise 15.52% of the total population. The survey also establishes that the state's population is overwhelmingly Hindu, with the majority community comprising 81.99% of the total population, followed by Muslims (17.70%).

Christians, Sikhs, Jains and those following other religions as also the nonbelievers have a miniscule presence, together making up for less than one per cent of the total population.