46% of Odisha’s population belongs to OBC category: Caste Census

The Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes (OSCBC) has recently completed a caste survey, revealing data on the state’s demographics. An important revelation of the study is the identification of 46% of the state’s population as part of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. This crucial statistic was arrived at through an extensive door-to-door survey of the state’s residences and institutions.

Survey and Results 

The OSCBC carried out an exhaustive study from May to July this year, concentrating on the social and educational conditions of the 211 identified backward classes in Odisha. Also included in the survey were crucial lifestyle indicators such as the types of dwellings people resided in, their primary sources of income, and their level of access to key infrastructure elements like hospitals, schools, and markets.

“Mitali Chinara, a member of the Commission, said the panel which completed its door-to-door survey in July this year found 10.95 million or 46% people belonging to the 208 backward classes.”

The survey was largely motivated by the growing nationwide call for a caste-based census, the results of which can greatly affect the distribution of benefits to the backward classes.

Political Factors and Census Call 

Interestingly, Odisha’s political context has historically been devoid of caste-based influence. Unlike states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, neither the OBCs, who constitute 54% of the population, nor the tribal and Dalits, who form 24% and 17% of its population respectively, have ever voted in large groups. However, the upsurge of the BJP, which is set to challenge the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the 2024 polls, has reoriented political analysts into believing that the BJD is using the OBC census for social engineering. 

Prominent BJP leader and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, an OBC himself, has actively called upon Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, to reserve seats for students belonging to the OBC category and the socially and economically backward classes.

Both the BJP and the Congress have demanded transparency, imploring the state to make the survey report public. Their suspicions lie in the alleged lack of commitment portrayed by the government towards the Other Backward Classes. 

“The government lacks commitment towards the Other Backward Classes,” said BJP leader Nauri Nayak.

Expressing similar dissatisfaction, senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra said, “The (Odisha) government had not made sitting arrangements for the commission officers and staff for a long period. They [BJD] even did not provide staff to assist the commission. Even today, they are not assisting the commission. They are completely anti-OBC.” 

The Assam government subsequently announced plans to conduct a socio-economic survey of the state’s five indigenous Muslim communities, marking the growth of nationwide interest in recognizing and addressing social and economic disparities.

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