Father’s domicile and caste will decide woman’s job quota eligibility: Bihar govt

As per a letter from the General Administration Department (GAD) on September 2, the Bihar government made its position clear on whether a married woman could get benefits of reservation on the basis of caste of her father or not. The letter said: “Those women whose fathers are domicile of Bihar cannot be deprived of benefits of reservation only because of their residential certificates are issued on the basis of their husbands’ addressess”. The GAD letter made it clear that “the basis of an individual being eligible for reservation would be decided on basis of the caste of father of the individual”.

Deputy Secretary Rajnish Kumar in his letter to the heads of all government departments, referred to a 1996 government order that had put a clause of one being “domicile of Bihar” for getting reservation benefits. The letter also referred to a 2007 order of the state government to decide the caste of an applicant.

As most married women use residential addresses of their husbands and several of them are married outside the caste of their birth, the state government decided that father’s domicile and caste will be considered for giving reservation benefits. A married woman candidate has to present non-creamy layer certificate issued by the circle office under which her father’s village or town falls.

Initiatives focused on women

This decision looks like yet another move by the Nitish Kumar government to cater to the caste-neutral constituency of women. His government had given 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayats and local bodies in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The decision paved the way for representation by over 5,000 women later. Subsequently, the state government introduced 35 per cent reservation in the state police as well as in other government jobs.