The decision has come at a time when Nitish Kumar’s own social justice agenda will be tested against his loyalty towards the NDA. The NDA’s coalition dynamics on the issue will surely be an interesting watch. https://thewire.in/politics/patna-high-court-reservation-quota-caste-survey-census-bihar
Opposition forces faced a setback on June 20, 2024 when the Patna high court set aside the Bihar government’s decision to increase reservation for Other Backward Classes(OBC), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) from 50% to 65% in educational institutions and government jobs.
The Bihar Reservation Amendment Bill raised the quotas for EBCs from the existing 18% to 25%, for OBCs from 12% to 18%, for SCs from 16% to 20%, and for STs from 1% to 2%. The existing 3% for OBC women was scrapped in the process. The move, and the larger demand to conduct a caste census in India, led to huge resentment among ‘upper’ caste groups across the country.
by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta
21/06/2024