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Lalu Calls Bihar Bandh To Compel Modi Government For Caste Data

Lalu Calls Bihar Bandh To Compell Modi Government For Caste Data
New Delhi, INDIA: Indian Railway Minister and President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party Lalu Prasad Yadav talks to media representatives after signing the nomination form for Rajasthan's governor Pratibha Patil, the ruling Congress-led government candidate for the forthcoming Indian presidential election, in New Delhi, 21 June 2007. India's ruling Congress party 14 June chose Patil as its candidate for the presidential elections to be held in July 2007, raising the prospect that the country could see its first female head of state. Lalu assailed the Third Front, the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for mooting the candidature of President Abdul Kalam for a second term, accusing them of 'playing a joke' on him. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN (Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
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New Delhi, INDIA: Indian Railway Minister and President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party Lalu Prasad Yadav talks to media representatives after signing the nomination form for Rajasthan's governor Pratibha Patil, the ruling Congress-led government candidate for the forthcoming Indian presidential election, in New Delhi, 21 June 2007. India's ruling Congress party 14 June chose Patil as its candidate for the presidential elections to be held in July 2007, raising the prospect that the country could see its first female head of state. Lalu assailed the Third Front, the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for mooting the candidature of President Abdul Kalam for a second term, accusing them of 'playing a joke' on him. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN (Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)

PATNA -- As the poll battle for Bihar intensifies, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav today called for a state-wide shutdown to press for the release of caste-census data, which he alleged, the central government was concealing.

The Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 is the first survey of caste in India since 1931. The Modi government released information on the economic and social aspects of the study, earlier this month, but did not disclose the caste data.

The enraged the RJD chief accused the Modi government of suppressing the data to avoid spending more on the backwards castes and to steer clear of providing more reservation, if their numbers were found to have grown.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has joined forces with Yadav in the state elections, has also backed Lalu's demand for the release of caste census.

Schools, colleges and markets were forced to close for the bandh on Monday. RJD workers wielding sticks bullied shop-owners into closing down, attacked vehicles and burned tyres on the roads. Some workers were spotted ripping off BJP campaign posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The RJD chief is expected to intensify his census battle ahead of the Bihar elections to be predictably fought on caste-lines and characterize Modi as a corporate cheerleader. While BJP has prominent Dalit leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi on its side, the RJD chief is still regarded as the messiah for the Yadav community in Bihar.

While it's fairly obvious that detailed information on caste will help politicians further identify their electorates, Yadav's camp says this is all part of a "social" revolution. "This is not about caste. This is a social revolution for equality and development," RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav told HuffPost India. "Why are the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer in this country?"

But Shashi Sharma, head of the political science department at Patna University, noted that caste remains the critical factor in the Bihar elections. "Lalu Prasad Yadav is a caste leader and he would like to know whether the proportion of Yadavs have increased," she said.

Releasing the census data on July 3, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the survey did not contain caste data even though the name suggested it. "The name of the report indicates (caste), but caste is not reflected in our data... still the name is Socio Economic and Caste Census," he said.

But the government changed its stance after the uproar created in Bihar. Earlier this month, Jaitley said that the survey showed around 4.6 million castes, sub-castes and surnames existed in India, and the data would be released after being analysed by Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya.

Yadav has said that he will demand a separate budget for education and employment for backward castes.

While caste census is being used to score points in Bihar's election battle, experts warn that the release of this data will unleash a whole other set of problems that politicians are not anticipating.

Shaibal Gupta, a social scientist at the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, noted that the data will reveal the deep class and economic inequity within the castes. "This will be a major paradigm shift in the assessment of caste. There will be a rich, middle and poor Jat. So who will a politician help," he said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.