In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the Centre’s decision to conduct caste enumeration, Bihar’s leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav has demanded reservations in judiciary and private sector.

The RJD leader has called for the “full implementation of the pending recommendations of the Mandal Commission,” along with “reservation in private sector, reservation in contract, reservation in judiciary, [and] proportional reservation based on caste census data.”

While the Mandal Commission recommendations brought major changes to the system in the early 1990s, several of its directives remain unimplemented, said Tejashwi Yadav.

“The private sector, which has been a major beneficiary of public resources, cannot remain insulated from social justice imperatives,” he argued.

He listed various government benefits that corporate India receives, land,subsidies, tax breaks, and suggests it is only fair that it reflects the diversity of the country in its hiring and promotions.

The Constitution, Yadav pointed out, provides moral and legal footing for such actions. “Our Constitution, through its Directive Principles, mandates the state to reduce economic inequalities and ensure equitable distribution of resources. When we know exactly how many of our citizens belong to disadvantaged groups and their economic condition, targeted interventions must be designed with greater precision.”

The Bihar leader also raised concerns about the upcoming delimitation exercise and pushed for “adequate political representation of OBCs and EBCs who have been systematically excluded from decision-making forums.”

His advice: expanding their presence in state assemblies and the Indian Parliament through proportional representation.

The RJD leader also called out the Modi government because it had earlier dismissed demands for a caste census.

“For years, your government and the NDA alliance have dismissed calls for a caste census as divisive and unnecessary,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader wrote. “When Bihar took the initiative to conduct its own caste survey, central authorities including the top law officer of the government and your party created obstacles at every step. Your party colleagues questioned the very necessity of such data collection. Your belated decision represents an acknowledgement of the groundswell of demands from the citizens who have long been relegated to the margins of our society.”

The Bihar caste survey had revealed that Other Backward Castes and Economically Backward Class together make up about 63 per cent of the state’s population, a statistic that upended long standing assumptions. “The Bihar caste survey... shattered many myths perpetuated to maintain the status quo,” Yadav noted. “Similar patterns are likely to emerge nationwide.”

The push for caste enumeration has gained traction in recent years, especially in the wake of the rising chorus demanding transparency about the socio-economic distribution of India’s population.

The immediate concern among those supporting the census is whether the government intends to act on the findings. “Conducting the caste census is merely the first step of the long journey towards social justice,” wrote Yadav. “The census data must lead to a comprehensive review of social protection and reservation policies. The arbitrary cap on reservations will also have to be reconsidered.”