When a lawyer threw a shoe at Chief Justice BR Gavai — the first Dalit to reach the highest position in Indian judiciary in decades — it briefly reignited a conversation long suppressed in the Hindi heartland. While the incident may be dismissed as individual outrage, it touched a raw nerve among Bihar’s Scheduled Castes, who see their struggles mirrored in symbols of exclusion and humiliation.

For Bihar, where nearly one in five residents is Dalit, the incident comes at a politically charged moment. The state is preparing for an assembly election in November, and a new report by the National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) titled “Bihar: What Dalits Want” lays out a comprehensive — and troubling — account of how far the community remains from social and economic parity.

The weight of numbers

According to the Bihar Caste Survey, 19.65 per cent of the state’s population — about two crore people — belong to Scheduled Castes. That makes Bihar home to the third-largest Dalit population in India, accounting for 8.5 per cent of the national total.

Yet beneath this numerical strength lies deep fragmentation. Just six Dalit castes — Dusadhs, Chamars (or Ravidas), Musahars, Pasis, Dhobis, and Bhuiyas — make up 90 per cent of Bihar’s Scheduled Caste population. Among these, the Dusadhs and Chamars are numerically dominant, while Musahars and Bhuiyas remain among the most deprived.

NACDAOR’s report argues that this internal hierarchy affects representation and resource distribution. In many local bodies and party structures, the relatively better-off castes within the Dalit category overshadow smaller, poorer sub-groups that remain invisible in policymaking.

Education as the missed ladder

Education, the report emphasises, remains the single most decisive factor in Dalit empowerment — yet it is where Bihar’s record is bleakest.

The literacy rate among Scheduled Castes in Bihar stands at 55.9 per cent, compared to the national Dalit average of 66.1 per cent. The gender gap is particularly severe: while two-thirds of Dalit men can read and write, fewer than half of Dalit women can.

Among the Musahars, literacy is below 20 per cent — one of the lowest rates for any community in India.

In higher education, the gap widens further. Dalits account for only 5.6 per cent of students and faculty members in Bihar’s universities, despite a population share of nearly 20 per cent and a constitutional reservation of 17 per cent. The lack of academic representation, NACDAOR notes, perpetuates cycles of exclusion and denies Dalits a voice in policy and research.

Jobs, livelihoods, and migration

Employment data in the report draws a similarly stark picture. Nearly two-thirds of Bihar’s Dalits are classified as non-workers, most of them women or youth. Of those who work, almost half are marginal workers engaged for less than six months in a year.

Only one in five Dalit workers has full-time employment, and most are landless agricultural labourers or casual wage earners. Government jobs — a key source of social mobility — remain out of reach: Dalits hold just 1.3 per cent of state government posts, far below their reserved quota.

Even where reservations exist, NACDAOR points to a lack of oversight. Posts remain unfilled, and promotion rules continue to disadvantage the Scheduled Castes. As a result, upward mobility through public service has stagnated, pushing thousands to migrate seasonally to Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi for construction or domestic work.

These migrations, the report cautions, are more about survival than opportunity.

Unequal land, unequal lives

The question of land ownership runs through every page of NACDAOR’s findings. Landlessness, it says, is the “single biggest cause of Dalit poverty in Bihar”.

Of the state’s 16.4 million cultivable units, Dalits own only 1.91 million — barely 11.6 per cent. Over 84 per cent of Dalit households have no land at all, while the few who do hold plots typically have plots that are smaller than half an acre. Out of Bihar’s total 6.45 million hectares of farmland, Dalits own only 0.57 million hectares.

This structural exclusion translates directly into low incomes: the average per capita monthly income of Dalit households is just ₹6,480, roughly 40 per cent below the state average. With agriculture declining and industrialisation sluggish, the report says, Dalits face limited paths to prosperity.

Health deficits and human costs

NACDAOR also highlights a stark health divide. Drawing on the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), it notes that Dalit infant and maternal mortality rates in Bihar are among the highest in the country.

The infant mortality rate among Dalits is 55 per 1,000 live births, compared with 37 nationally. Maternal mortality is 130 per 100,000 births, well above the state average of 118. Life expectancy among Dalits is 66 years, six years shorter than the national figure.

Anaemia, stunting, and malnutrition are alarmingly common. Nearly half of all Dalit children under five are underweight. The report links these conditions to poor sanitation, discrimination at public health centres, and the virtual absence of trained medical personnel in Dalit-dominated hamlets.

Shrinking budgets, diluted welfare

Perhaps the most revealing part of NACDAOR’s analysis concerns state budgets. Between 2013–14 and 2025–26, Bihar’s total budget expanded almost fourfold, from ₹80,405 crore to ₹3,16,895 crore. Yet allocations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes grew far less — from ₹2,079 crore to ₹4,094 crore, less than double in twelve years.

The share of the state budget dedicated to these groups fell from 2.59 per cent to just 1.29 per cent. Even within social services, the portion spent on Bahujan welfare declined sharply — from over 94 per cent in 2015–16 to about 53 per cent now.

Though Bihar adopted the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan in 2011–12, the report says allocations have halved in recent years, from 12.48 per cent in 2019–20 to about 6.2 per cent in 2025–26. Actual spending, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General, averages only 70 per cent of what is allocated.

Funds meant for Dalit-specific schemes are often diverted to general programmes with limited targeted benefit, weakening both intent and accountability.

Persistent violence

Beyond statistics, violence remains a grim daily reality. Between 2010 and 2022, Bihar recorded 85,684 cases of atrocities against Dalits — roughly 17 a day. These include more than 1,200 murders, nearly 1,000 rapes, and over 38,000 cases of grievous hurt.

In recent years, almost half of all Dalit rape cases in the state involved victims under eighteen. NACDAOR’s report calls for a state-level monitoring committee under the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court to oversee the investigation and prosecution of crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

What Dalits want

The report distils 250 community demands into 20 key policy proposals for political parties to include in their election manifestos. Among them:

A high-power committee under the Chief Minister to monitor the social, educational, and economic development of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Extremely Backward Classes.

Enactment of a law guaranteeing non-lapsable, population-proportionate budget allocations for SC/ST development.

The launch of the Dr Ambedkar Educational Inclusion Scheme to bridge educational gaps.

Full scholarships and hostels for Dalit and Adivasi women pursuing higher studies.

Two hundred annual scholarships for SC and ST youth to study abroad.

A ₹5,000 crore entrepreneurship fund for Dalit and tribal youth.

Reforms to ensure fair representation in government contracts, outsourcing, and media ownership.

Proportional representation in the Assembly — 52 seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, compared with 40 at present.

For the most marginalised groups, such as Musahars and Bhuiyas, NACDAOR calls for a targeted “accelerated development plan” and urgent rehabilitation of those displaced by infrastructure projects.

Political stakes in the November election

NACDAOR’s timing is deliberate. By releasing its findings just ahead of the election, the organisation seeks to compel all parties — ruling and opposition — to commit to measurable action for Dalit welfare.

Bihar’s Dalits have never been a monolithic voting bloc. The Dusadhs, traditionally aligned with the Lok Janshakti Party, have often voted differently from the Chamars and Musahars, who lean towards the Rashtriya Janata Dal or the Janata Dal (United). But the report’s stark data on unemployment, landlessness, and violence could sharpen questions that transcend caste sub-identities.

Political observers say that while caste arithmetic will continue to dominate campaign strategies, social justice will return to the centre of Bihar’s political conversation — in a language shaped by economic rights as much as identity.

Reflection

For decades, Bihar’s political class has claimed the legacy of social justice without transforming it into measurable outcomes. NACDAOR’s report does not merely catalogue grievances; it quantifies how far the state’s Dalits have been left behind in education, employment, and dignity.

Whether this data translates into political will remains uncertain. But as the symbolic anger witnessed in the courtroom collides with the lived anger of Bihar’s villages, the question before parties in this election is clear: will Bihar’s next government treat Dalit equality as a slogan, or as a measurable goal?