Missing in the caste survey

The broad numbers reveal the big picture in Bihar. But data about subcastes are necessary to understand intra-group inequalities

The publication of the Bihar caste survey results has, expectedly, given a big boost to the demand for proportionate reservations for OBCs. While politics over the issue may take its own course, it is worth asking another important question. What do we know about the role of caste in economic inequalities in India?

JD(U) supporters celebrate after the Bihar government released the caste survey report, in Patna on Monday. (ANI)

On certain things the answer is unambiguous. The population outside the fold of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other backward classes (OBC) is clearly richer than the SC/ST/OBC population and a lot of its economic advantage seems to be the result of better access to not just salaried, but also high-paying, jobs. Data from the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) also shows that caste-based inequalities are lower in government jobs than in private salaried jobs. It is perhaps a reflection of the fact that the former have reservations. Also, OBCs fare worse than SC/ST groups in terms of relative share of government jobs. PLFS data also shows that young workers across social groups are less likely to be in government-salaried employment. This means that government jobs are losing their importance in the economy.

While these numbers tell us a broad story, they cannot tell us about intra-group inequalities within these broad social groups. If the government of Bihar publishes the economic attributes of its caste survey data, we could have some clarity on economic inequalities within subcastes. There is no reason to believe that such inequalities exist within just the OBCs. For example, an analysis published in this newspaper found different trends in educational convergence across the SC subcastes in northern and southern states. There is good reason to believe that Bihar’s subcaste data might not be of much use in understanding social inequality in other parts of the country. This is exactly why one cannot comment on caste-based economic inequalities without a comprehensive pan-India socio-economic caste census.

Should such a census be conducted? In principle, there can be no argument against it. Will politics over increasing the OBC quota overwhelm every other motivation behind the decision to conduct such an exercise? The answer is very likely a yes. Can reservations solve the employment problem facing India’s young workforce? Not really — reservations can only ensure an equal distribution of the existing pie, not increase its size.