Bhumihar
Encyclopedia
Bhumihar or Babhan or Bhuin-har is a Brahmin Hindu community mainly found in the India
n states of Bihar
, Jharkhand
, Uttar Pradesh
and Bundelkhand
region of Madhya Pradesh
.
According to M. A. Sherring
some of the Bhumihars belong to the Saryupareen Brahmin division of Kanyakubja Brahmins. In the 19th (held at Prayag) and 20th (held at Lucknow
) national convention of Kanyakubja Brahmins by Kanyakubja Mahati Sabha, in 1926 and 1927 respectively, it reiterated Bhumihars to be Kanyakubja Brahmins and appealed for unity among Kanyakubja Brahmins whose different branches included Sanadhya, Pahadi, Jujhoutia, Saryupareen, Chattisgarhi, Bhumihar and different Bengali Brahmins. Bhumihars have been the traditional priests at Vishnupad Mandir in Gaya
as Gayawar Pandas and in the adjoining districts like Hazaribagh
. The Kingdom of Kashi
belonged to Bhumihar Brahmins and big zamindari like Bettiah Raj
, Hathwa Raj
and Tekari Raj
belonged to them. Bhumihars were well respected Brahmins in the courts of Dumraon
Maharaj, King of Nepal and Raj Darbhanga
. Some Mohyal Brahmins
migrated eastward and are believed to constitute some sub-divisions of Bhumihars, some of whom are also descendants of Husseini
Brahminss and mourn the death of Imam Hussain. There is also a significant migrant population of Bhumihars in Mauritius
, Suriname
, Trinidad and Tobago
, Guyana
and others.
Bhumihars are commonly called Babhans which is the Pali
word for Brahmins and is used to refer to Brahmins in Buddhist sources. In recent times, Bhumihars have been in the forefront of casteist violence in some places of Bihar state.
destroyed the Kshatriya race, and he set up in their place the descendants of Brahmins, who, after a time, having mostly abandoned their priestly functions, took to land-owning (Zamindari). Lord Parashurama was the first Bhumihar.
. In South Bihar
, their most prominent representative was the Tekari
family, whose great estate in Gaya
dates back to the early eighteenth century. With the decline of Mughal Empire
, in the area of south of Avadh, in the fertile rive-rain rice
growing areas of Benares, Gorakhpur
, Deoria
, Ghazipur
, Ballia
and Bihar
and on the fringes of Bengal
, it was the 'military' or Bhumihar Brahmins who strengthened their sway. The distinctive 'caste' identity of Bhumihar Brahman emerged largely through military service, and then confirmed by the forms of continuous 'social spending' which defined a man and his kin as superior and lordly. In 19th century, many of the Bhumihar Brahmins were zamindar
s. Of the 67000 Hindus in the Bengal Army
in 1842, 28000 were identified as Rajputs and 25000 as Brahmins, a category that included Bhumihar Brahmins. The Brahmin presence in the Bengal Army
was reduced in the late nineteenth century because of their perceived primary role as mutineers in the Mutiny of 1857, led by Mangal Pandey
. Now, a majority of them are farmers with some big land-holders.
Some Bhumihars had settled in Chandipur
, Murshidabad
during late nineteenth and early twentieth century where they are at the top of the social hierarchy.
Pundit Yogendra Bhattacharya in his book "Hindu castes and sets" writes that Bhumihar Brahmin literally means landholder. The Bhumihar Brahmins are evidently those Bhrahmins who held grants of land for secular services. Whoever held a secular fief was Bhumihar. Where a Brahmin held such a tenure he was called a Bhumihar Brahmin.
Bhumihar Brahmins are sometimes simply called as Bhumihars. They perform all their religious ceremonies in the same manner as other Brahmins, but as they also practice secular occupations like the Laukik Brahmans of Southern India, they are not entitled to accept religious gifts or to minister to anyone as priest. The usual surnames/titles of the Bhumihar Brahmins are same as those of other Brahmins of Northern India. Being a fighter by caste few of them have Rajputana surnames/titles.
Before independence, it was the custom of the Bhumihar Brahmins to stage an elaborate Kālī
puja, during which annual payments were made to servants and gifts of cloth were distributed to dependents, both Hindu
and Muslim
.
M. A. Sherring
in his book Hindu Tribes and Castes as Reproduced in Benaras published in 1872, mentions, "Great important distinctions subsist between the various tribes of Brahmins. Some are given to learning
, some to agriculture
, some to politics
and some to trade
s. The Maharashtra
Brahmin is very different being from the Bengal
i, while the Kanaujia (Kanyakubja Brahmins) differs from both.
Only those Brahmins who perform all six duties are reckoned perfectly orthodox
. Some perform three of them, namely, the first, third and fifth and omit the other three. Hence Brahmins are divided into two kinds, the Shat-karmas and the tri-karmas or those who perform only three. The Bhumihar Brahmins for instance are tri-karmas, and merely pay heed to three duties.
The Bhumihars, of whom many, though not all, belong to the Saryupareen Brahmin division, are a large and influential body in all that province (United Province
)."
Bhumihars were referred to as "Military Brahmin" by Francis Buchanan and as "Magadh Brahmin" by William Adam in 1883. William Crooke
in his book, Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, has mentioned Bhuinhar as an important tribe of landowners and agriculturists in eastern districts and that they are also known as Babhan, Zamindar
Brahman, Grihastha Brahman, or Pachchima or 'western' Brahmans.
The Brahmins and Kshatriyas look down upon the Bhumihars whom they claim to have descended from Brahmin men and Kshatriya women. Pandit Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya says that according to legend prevalent among Brahmins, the Bhumihars were non-Brahmin Hindus who were conferred the status of Brahmins by a Raja who wanted more Brahmins in his kingdom in order to celebrate religious festivals.Herbert Hope Risley
holds the view that Bhumihars are an offshoot of the Rajputs as their clans and septs are closer to that of the Rajputs. But It is not true because clans and septs are also present in Maithila Brahmins and Saraswat Brahmins so we can say that they are also offshoots of rajputs. A widely prevalent belief is that they had descended from the Bhuyans, a tribe which acquired land and claimed to be Brahmins.
Pandit Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya
in his book Hindu Castes and Sects published in 1896, went on to write about the origin of Bhumihar Brahmins of Bihar
and Banaras as: "The clue to the exact status of the Bhumihar Brahmans is afforded by their very name. The word literally means a landholder. In the language of the Indian feudal systems, Bhoom is the name given to a kind of tenure similar to the Inams and Jagirs of Mohammedan
times. By a Bhoom, according to the Rajputana Gazeteer, an hereditary, non-resumableand inalienable property in soil was inseparably bound up with a revenue-free title. Bhoom was given as a compensation for bloodshedin order to quell a feud, for distinguished services in the field, for protection of a border or for the watch and ward of the village. The meaning of the designation Bhumihar being as stated above, the Bhumihar Brahmans are evidently these Brahmans who held grants of land for secular service. Whoever held a secular fief was Bhumihar. Where a Brahman held such a tenure, he was called a Bhumihar Brahman....Bhumihar Brahmans are sometimes called simply Bhumihars..." The Bhimihars are Brahmins who are also great fighters and warlike.
In 1889, Pradhan Bhumihar Brahman Sabha was established at Patna
"to improve moral, social and educational reforms of the community." The social reformation among Bhumihar Brahmins had two streams — one led by Sir Ganesh Dutt, and the other by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
.
Bhumihars were officially recognized as Brahmins by the government of British India in 1911 census (second all India census report) of British India.
Harry W. Blair notes that the Bhumihars were
Blair's conclusion from analysis of census data in the Bihar area for 1901-1931 is that Bhumihars had begun to pass themselves off to census enumerators as being Brahman, evidenced by a fall in the number of Bhumihars recorded occurring at the same time as there was a substantial rise in the number of Brahmins. In some areas the change was "quite spectacular". He also notes that of all the various caste associations in this area it was only that of the Bhumihars which had organised with the intent of achieving "the promotion of its members to a different higher caste,"
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
, a Bhumihar himself, wrote extensively on Brahmin society and on the origin of Bhumihars. He stated that the Bhumihars are among the superior Brahmins. Some Bhumihar Brahmins are also known for their secular and unorthodox practices, where some of them are also descendants of Husseini
Brahminss. On the social scale, although the Bhumihars are known to be Brahmins, on account of the fact that they were cultivators they were not given the ritual status of Brahmins.
Siyaram Tiwary, the former dean at Visva Bharati University, stated that the Bhumihars are "landed Brahmins who stopped taking alms and performing pujas and rituals", comparing them with Tyagi
s of Western UP, Jamindar Bengali Brahmins
, Niyogi
Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh, Nambudiri Brahmin of Kerala, Chitpavan
s of Maharashtra, Anavil Desais of Gujarat and Mohyals of Punjab. Bhumihars are classified in the Brahmin varna in Hinduism and hence use the designation Bhumihar Brahmin, but some other communities dispute this claim.
Acharya Tarineesh Jha, himself a Maithil Brahmin
scholar has attested how from ancient times to modern all great Brahmin scholars like Maithili Manishi Mahamahopadhyay Chitradhar Mishra, Mahamahopadhyay Balkrishna Mishra; Saryupareen Brahmin scholars Mahamahopadhyay Dwivedi, Mahamahopadhyay Shivkumar Shastri, Dr. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi
; Kanyakubja Brahmins scholars Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi
, Pandit Laxminarayan Dixit Shastri, Pandit Venkatesh Narayan Tiwari and others have mentioned about Bhumihar Brahmins as their fellow Brahmin brothers.
They are also called Ajachak Brahmans, i.e., Brahmans who do not take alms (jachak) in contrast to the ordinary Brahmans who are Jachaks or almstakers but there are still some who traditionally take alms as in Gaya
and Hazaribagh
. Like fellow Brahmans, they did not use to hold the plough, but employed labourers for the purpose.
, Gautama
, and Kolaha in Banaras; the Gautama
in Mirzapur
; the Bharadwaj, Bhriguvanshi, Dikshit
, Donwar, Gautama
, Kaushik
, Kinwar, Kistwar, Sakarwar, Sonwar in Ghazipur
; Bhagata, Kinwar, Benwar, of Ballia
; the Baghochhiya, Baksaria, Gautama
, Kaushik
and Sakarwar(Sankritya) of Gorakhpur
; the Barasi, Birhariya and Kaushik
of Basti
; and the Barwar, Bharadwaj, Bhriguvansh, Denwar, Gargbans, Gautama
, Purvar, Sakarwar, and Shandilya of Azamgarh
. On the Jijhoutia clan of Bhumihar Brahmins, William Crooke writes, "A branch of the Kanaujia Brahmins (Kanyakubja Brahmins) who take their name from the country of Jajakshuku, which is mentioned in the Madanpur
inscription."
charya in the Tirhut
region of Bihar
. Bhumihar Brahmins, like all other Brahmins are endogamous, but marital relations are known to exist since ancient times between Bhumihar Brahmins and Maithil Brahmins in Tirhut
and Mithila
and between Bhumihar Brahmins and Kanyakubja Brahmins in Bundelkhand
region of Madhya Pradesh
where Jihoutia clan of Bhumihar Brahmins live. Bhumihar Brahmin men of Purnea took to Maithil Brahmin
wives in Purnea and married their daughters to Bhumihar Brahmin/Babhan men.
cultivation in 1914 (at Pipra
) and 1916 (Turkaulia) and Pandit Raj Kumar Shukla
took Mahatma Gandhi
to Champaran and the Champaran Satyagraha began.
Although the Bhumihars have always constituted a very small proportion of the Bihar population (around 2.8%), they wielded political strength in pre-Mandal
politics of Bihar. With the partition of Bihar
, their percentage has shot up to 6 percent and all political parties are vying for their votes.
. However, it was in reply to the requests made by Yadav
peasants in 1927, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
had started the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha, which led to the largest peasant movement in the country. Bhumihars also gave Bihar its first chief minister in Sri Krishna Sinha
who had himself led Dalit
's entry into Baidyanath Dham (Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar
).
Following independence, Naxalite groups began to originate in Bihar in response to low wages and alleged illtreatment of Dalit peasants by upper-caste landlords. Some Bhumihars and other upper-caste landlords responded by starting private militias called Senas. These were heavily funded and promoted by some Bhumihar landlords to fight extremist Naxalite
groups which supposedly represented low-caste Bihari peasants. Hostilities began to intensify when in 1994, the Ranvir Sena was founded in Ekwari village to counter Naxal terrorism. Since its formation, the Ranvir Sena has been held responsible for murder, rape and burglary in Bihar. This outfit, along with the Maoist Communist Centre, has been responsible for large-scale violence in Bihar. Incidents of violence have been reported from the villages of Belaur, Bara, Senari, Ekwari, Chandi, Nanaur, Narhi, Sarathau, Haibaspur, Laxmanpur-Bathe, Shankarbigha, and Narayanpur.
s, in some places, were also involved in anti-Muslim communal violence during the Partition of India
. and during the 1893 Anti-Muslim riots.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n states of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
region of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
.
Varna status
Bhumihars are classified in the Brahmin varna of Hinduism, but some others contest this view. Bhumihars are landowning Brahmins who came to own land in different periods of History through land grants by kings or during the rule of Brahmin kings.According to M. A. Sherring
M. A. Sherring
Matthew Atmore Sherring was a Protestant missionary in India who was also a reputed scholar and Indologist and wrote a number of works related to India.M.A. Sherring was senior Anglican missionary in the city of Varanasi.-Works:...
some of the Bhumihars belong to the Saryupareen Brahmin division of Kanyakubja Brahmins. In the 19th (held at Prayag) and 20th (held at Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
) national convention of Kanyakubja Brahmins by Kanyakubja Mahati Sabha, in 1926 and 1927 respectively, it reiterated Bhumihars to be Kanyakubja Brahmins and appealed for unity among Kanyakubja Brahmins whose different branches included Sanadhya, Pahadi, Jujhoutia, Saryupareen, Chattisgarhi, Bhumihar and different Bengali Brahmins. Bhumihars have been the traditional priests at Vishnupad Mandir in Gaya
Gaya, India
Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...
as Gayawar Pandas and in the adjoining districts like Hazaribagh
Hazaribagh
Hazaribagh is a city and a municipality in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is famous as a health resort and for Hazaribagh National Park ....
. The Kingdom of Kashi
Kingdom of Kashi
The Kingdom of Kashi was an independent Bhumihar Brahmin state until 1194, became a British territory in 1775, and became a state in 1911. It is the site of Ramnagar Fort and its museum, which are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares and since the 18th century has been the home of...
belonged to Bhumihar Brahmins and big zamindari like Bettiah Raj
Bettiah Raj
Bettiah Rajs eighteen hundred square miles yielding a rental of almost 2 million rupees made it the second largest zamindari in Bihar belonging to a Bhumihar Brahmin family...
, Hathwa Raj
Hathwa Raj
Hathwa Raj was a zamindari belonging to Bhumihar Brahmins which encompassed 1,365 villages, was inhabited by more than 391,000 people, and produced an annual rental of almost a million rupees. It is located in the Saran Division of Bihar....
and Tekari Raj
Tekari Raj
Tekari Raj was a zamindari in South Bihar, the Tekari family belonging to the Bhumihar Brahmin.In the Mughal period, Tekari was a rich estate, protected by the Bhumihar Brahmin as part of the Mughal Empire....
belonged to them. Bhumihars were well respected Brahmins in the courts of Dumraon
Dumraon
Dumraon is a city and a municipality in Buxar district in the state of Bihar, India. Ustad Bismillah Khan, the shehnai maestro from India was born on 21 March 1916 at Bhirung Raut Ki Gali here.-Introduction:...
Maharaj, King of Nepal and Raj Darbhanga
Raj Darbhanga
Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Royal Family of Darbhanga, were a family of Zamindars and rulers of territories that are now part of Mithila and Darbhanga district, Bihar, India. Their seat was at the city of Darbhanga...
. Some Mohyal Brahmins
Mohyal
Mohyal is the name of an endogamous ethnic group that originates from the Gandhara region and consists of seven Brahmin lineages of that area that left the usual priestly occupation of Brahmins long ago to serve as soldiers and in government services.The...
migrated eastward and are believed to constitute some sub-divisions of Bhumihars, some of whom are also descendants of Husseini
Husseini
Husseini is an Arabic surname.-Etymology:It is a nisba derivation of the given name Hussein...
Brahminss and mourn the death of Imam Hussain. There is also a significant migrant population of Bhumihars in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and others.
Bhumihars are commonly called Babhans which is the Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
word for Brahmins and is used to refer to Brahmins in Buddhist sources. In recent times, Bhumihars have been in the forefront of casteist violence in some places of Bihar state.
Mythology
When ParashuramaParashurama
Parashurama , is the sixth avatar of Vishnu and belongs to the treta yuga, and is the son of a Brahmin father Jamadagni and mother Renuka. He is considered one of the seven immortal human. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of...
destroyed the Kshatriya race, and he set up in their place the descendants of Brahmins, who, after a time, having mostly abandoned their priestly functions, took to land-owning (Zamindari). Lord Parashurama was the first Bhumihar.
History
By the sixteenth century.. Bhumihars known as karm kandi pandit controlled vast stretches of territory, particularly in North BiharBihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. In South Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, their most prominent representative was the Tekari
Tekari
Tekari is a city and a municipality in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar and was the centre of erstwhile Tekari Raj. Maharaja Gopalsaran, a Bhumihar Brahmin, was the king of this area in British times. The fort is still there...
family, whose great estate in Gaya
Gaya, India
Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...
dates back to the early eighteenth century. With the decline of Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, in the area of south of Avadh, in the fertile rive-rain rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
growing areas of Benares, Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
, Deoria
Deoria District
Deoria district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Deoria town is the district headquarters. Deoria district is a part of Gorakhpur division.-Ancient:...
, Ghazipur
Ghazipur
Ghazipur , or Ghazipur City, previously spelt Ghazeepore, is a city/town and a municipal corporation and headquarter of Ghazipur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghazipur Division and Sub-division...
, Ballia
Ballia
Ballia is a city with a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of the Ganges and the Ghaghara...
and Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and on the fringes of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, it was the 'military' or Bhumihar Brahmins who strengthened their sway. The distinctive 'caste' identity of Bhumihar Brahman emerged largely through military service, and then confirmed by the forms of continuous 'social spending' which defined a man and his kin as superior and lordly. In 19th century, many of the Bhumihar Brahmins were zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
s. Of the 67000 Hindus in the Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
in 1842, 28000 were identified as Rajputs and 25000 as Brahmins, a category that included Bhumihar Brahmins. The Brahmin presence in the Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
was reduced in the late nineteenth century because of their perceived primary role as mutineers in the Mutiny of 1857, led by Mangal Pandey
Mangal Pandey
Mangal Pandey was a sepoy in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry of the English East India Company. He is widely known in India as one of its first freedom fighters...
. Now, a majority of them are farmers with some big land-holders.
Some Bhumihars had settled in Chandipur
Chandipur
Chandipur also known as Chandipur-on-sea is a small sea resort in Baleswar District, Orissa, India. The resort is on the Bay of Bengal and is approximately 16 kilometers from the Baleswar Railway Station. The beach is unique in that the water recedes anywhere from 1 kilometer to 4 kilometers during...
, Murshidabad
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is a city in Murshidabad district of West Bengal state in India. The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a distributary of the Ganges River. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this...
during late nineteenth and early twentieth century where they are at the top of the social hierarchy.
Pundit Yogendra Bhattacharya in his book "Hindu castes and sets" writes that Bhumihar Brahmin literally means landholder. The Bhumihar Brahmins are evidently those Bhrahmins who held grants of land for secular services. Whoever held a secular fief was Bhumihar. Where a Brahmin held such a tenure he was called a Bhumihar Brahmin.
Bhumihar Brahmins are sometimes simply called as Bhumihars. They perform all their religious ceremonies in the same manner as other Brahmins, but as they also practice secular occupations like the Laukik Brahmans of Southern India, they are not entitled to accept religious gifts or to minister to anyone as priest. The usual surnames/titles of the Bhumihar Brahmins are same as those of other Brahmins of Northern India. Being a fighter by caste few of them have Rajputana surnames/titles.
Before independence, it was the custom of the Bhumihar Brahmins to stage an elaborate Kālī
KALI
KALI may refer to:* KALI , a radio station licensed to West Covina, California, United States* KALI-FM, a radio station licensed to Santa Ana, California, United States...
puja, during which annual payments were made to servants and gifts of cloth were distributed to dependents, both Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
.
M. A. Sherring
M. A. Sherring
Matthew Atmore Sherring was a Protestant missionary in India who was also a reputed scholar and Indologist and wrote a number of works related to India.M.A. Sherring was senior Anglican missionary in the city of Varanasi.-Works:...
in his book Hindu Tribes and Castes as Reproduced in Benaras published in 1872, mentions, "Great important distinctions subsist between the various tribes of Brahmins. Some are given to learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
, some to agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, some to politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and some to trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
s. The Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
Brahmin is very different being from the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i, while the Kanaujia (Kanyakubja Brahmins) differs from both.
Only those Brahmins who perform all six duties are reckoned perfectly orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
. Some perform three of them, namely, the first, third and fifth and omit the other three. Hence Brahmins are divided into two kinds, the Shat-karmas and the tri-karmas or those who perform only three. The Bhumihar Brahmins for instance are tri-karmas, and merely pay heed to three duties.
The Bhumihars, of whom many, though not all, belong to the Saryupareen Brahmin division, are a large and influential body in all that province (United Province
United Province
The United Provinces, was a province of British India and later of Independent India, which came into existence on 1 April 1937 in result of the shortening of United Provinces of British India...
)."
Bhumihars were referred to as "Military Brahmin" by Francis Buchanan and as "Magadh Brahmin" by William Adam in 1883. William Crooke
William Crooke
William Crooke was an English orientalist and "the central figure in Anglo-Indian folklore" according to Richard Mercer Dorson. He was a member of a family that had been settled in Ireland for many years, with his father being a doctor in Macroom. County Cork...
in his book, Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, has mentioned Bhuinhar as an important tribe of landowners and agriculturists in eastern districts and that they are also known as Babhan, Zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
Brahman, Grihastha Brahman, or Pachchima or 'western' Brahmans.
The Brahmins and Kshatriyas look down upon the Bhumihars whom they claim to have descended from Brahmin men and Kshatriya women. Pandit Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya says that according to legend prevalent among Brahmins, the Bhumihars were non-Brahmin Hindus who were conferred the status of Brahmins by a Raja who wanted more Brahmins in his kingdom in order to celebrate religious festivals.Herbert Hope Risley
Herbert Hope Risley
Sir Herbert Hope Risley KCIE CSI was a British ethnographer and colonial administrator, a member of the Indian Civil Service who conducted extensive studies on the tribes and castes of Bengal. He is also remembered for the formal application of the caste system to the entire Hindu population of...
holds the view that Bhumihars are an offshoot of the Rajputs as their clans and septs are closer to that of the Rajputs. But It is not true because clans and septs are also present in Maithila Brahmins and Saraswat Brahmins so we can say that they are also offshoots of rajputs. A widely prevalent belief is that they had descended from the Bhuyans, a tribe which acquired land and claimed to be Brahmins.
Pandit Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya
Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya
Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya was a pandit and one of a group of Hindu nationalists who held a benevolent view of the traditional role of caste in Indian society at a time, in the late nineteenth century, when social reformers were challenging the concept...
in his book Hindu Castes and Sects published in 1896, went on to write about the origin of Bhumihar Brahmins of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and Banaras as: "The clue to the exact status of the Bhumihar Brahmans is afforded by their very name. The word literally means a landholder. In the language of the Indian feudal systems, Bhoom is the name given to a kind of tenure similar to the Inams and Jagirs of Mohammedan
Mohammedan
Mohammedan is a Western term for a follower of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As an archaic English language term, it is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhammad or the religion, doctrines, institutions and practices that he established...
times. By a Bhoom, according to the Rajputana Gazeteer, an hereditary, non-resumableand inalienable property in soil was inseparably bound up with a revenue-free title. Bhoom was given as a compensation for bloodshedin order to quell a feud, for distinguished services in the field, for protection of a border or for the watch and ward of the village. The meaning of the designation Bhumihar being as stated above, the Bhumihar Brahmans are evidently these Brahmans who held grants of land for secular service. Whoever held a secular fief was Bhumihar. Where a Brahman held such a tenure, he was called a Bhumihar Brahman....Bhumihar Brahmans are sometimes called simply Bhumihars..." The Bhimihars are Brahmins who are also great fighters and warlike.
In 1889, Pradhan Bhumihar Brahman Sabha was established at Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
"to improve moral, social and educational reforms of the community." The social reformation among Bhumihar Brahmins had two streams — one led by Sir Ganesh Dutt, and the other by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
.
Bhumihars were officially recognized as Brahmins by the government of British India in 1911 census (second all India census report) of British India.
Harry W. Blair notes that the Bhumihars were
Blair's conclusion from analysis of census data in the Bihar area for 1901-1931 is that Bhumihars had begun to pass themselves off to census enumerators as being Brahman, evidenced by a fall in the number of Bhumihars recorded occurring at the same time as there was a substantial rise in the number of Brahmins. In some areas the change was "quite spectacular". He also notes that of all the various caste associations in this area it was only that of the Bhumihars which had organised with the intent of achieving "the promotion of its members to a different higher caste,"
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
, a Bhumihar himself, wrote extensively on Brahmin society and on the origin of Bhumihars. He stated that the Bhumihars are among the superior Brahmins. Some Bhumihar Brahmins are also known for their secular and unorthodox practices, where some of them are also descendants of Husseini
Husseini
Husseini is an Arabic surname.-Etymology:It is a nisba derivation of the given name Hussein...
Brahminss. On the social scale, although the Bhumihars are known to be Brahmins, on account of the fact that they were cultivators they were not given the ritual status of Brahmins.
Siyaram Tiwary, the former dean at Visva Bharati University, stated that the Bhumihars are "landed Brahmins who stopped taking alms and performing pujas and rituals", comparing them with Tyagi
Tyagi
Tyagi is a surname of North India and Pakistan. There are both Hindu and Muslim Tyagis. Tyāgī is a sanskrit word meaning the renouncer Once localized to Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, they are now also found in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan due to the...
s of Western UP, Jamindar Bengali Brahmins
Bengali Brahmins
The Bengali Brahmins are those Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Bangladesh...
, Niyogi
Niyogi
Niyogis are a sect of Hindu Brahmins who gave up priestly occupations and are predominantly Telugu language speakers, from Andhra Pradesh, India.-Theories of origin:...
Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh, Nambudiri Brahmin of Kerala, Chitpavan
Chitpavan
The Chitpavan or Chitpawan, also known as Konkanastha Brahmins , are a Smarta Brahmin community of Konkan, the coastal region of western Maharashtra in India....
s of Maharashtra, Anavil Desais of Gujarat and Mohyals of Punjab. Bhumihars are classified in the Brahmin varna in Hinduism and hence use the designation Bhumihar Brahmin, but some other communities dispute this claim.
Acharya Tarineesh Jha, himself a Maithil Brahmin
Maithil Brahmin
Maithil Brahmins form part of ancient Vedic Brahmins. Maithil s are a part of Panch-gauda , a group of highest-ranking castes among Brahmin, who still strive to follow rites and rituals according to ancient Hindu canons. Maithil Brahmin is a community of highly cohesive, and traditional Brahmins...
scholar has attested how from ancient times to modern all great Brahmin scholars like Maithili Manishi Mahamahopadhyay Chitradhar Mishra, Mahamahopadhyay Balkrishna Mishra; Saryupareen Brahmin scholars Mahamahopadhyay Dwivedi, Mahamahopadhyay Shivkumar Shastri, Dr. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi
Hazari Prasad Dwivedi
Acharya' Hazari Prasad Dwivedi was a Hindi novelist, literary historian, essayist, critic and scholar...
; Kanyakubja Brahmins scholars Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi
Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi
Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi was a noted Indian Hindi writer. Adhunikkaal, or the Modern period of the Hindi literature is divided into four phases, and he represents the second phase, known as the Dwivedi Yug after him, which was preceded by the Bharatendu Yug , followed by the Chhayavad Yug and the...
, Pandit Laxminarayan Dixit Shastri, Pandit Venkatesh Narayan Tiwari and others have mentioned about Bhumihar Brahmins as their fellow Brahmin brothers.
They are also called Ajachak Brahmans, i.e., Brahmans who do not take alms (jachak) in contrast to the ordinary Brahmans who are Jachaks or almstakers but there are still some who traditionally take alms as in Gaya
Gaya, India
Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...
and Hazaribagh
Hazaribagh
Hazaribagh is a city and a municipality in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is famous as a health resort and for Hazaribagh National Park ....
. Like fellow Brahmans, they did not use to hold the plough, but employed labourers for the purpose.
Social organisation
The census returns give no less than four hundred and fifty-eight sections: but here the territorial sections and the Brahminical gotras are mixed up together. The most important local sections are the ChaudhariChaudhari
Chaudhari may refer to:*Chowdhury, a traditional title used by the landowners in the Indian subcontinent; now predominantly used as a surname*Chaudhari, NepalChaudhari may refer to:...
, Gautama
Gautama Maharishi
Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --...
, and Kolaha in Banaras; the Gautama
Gautama Maharishi
Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --...
in Mirzapur
Mirzapur
Mirzapur is a city in the heart of North India, nearly 650 km between Delhi and Kolkata and also equidistant from Allahabad and Varanasi. Located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Mirzapur has a population of a little over 205,264 and is renowned for its famous carpet and brassware industry...
; the Bharadwaj, Bhriguvanshi, Dikshit
Dikshit
Dixit , is a Hindu family name. In English, it is often pronounced or spelled as "Dixit". The word Dixit is an adjective form of the Sanskrit word diksha, meaning religious initiations...
, Donwar, Gautama
Gautama Maharishi
Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --...
, Kaushik
Kaushik
Kaushik/Koushik is ancient Indian'Gotra' applied to an indo-aryan clan. Origin of Kaushik can be referenced to an ancient Hindu text. There was a Rishi by the name of "Vishvamitra" literally meaning 'friend of the universe','vishwa' as in universe and mitra as in 'friend', he was also called as...
, Kinwar, Kistwar, Sakarwar, Sonwar in Ghazipur
Ghazipur
Ghazipur , or Ghazipur City, previously spelt Ghazeepore, is a city/town and a municipal corporation and headquarter of Ghazipur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghazipur Division and Sub-division...
; Bhagata, Kinwar, Benwar, of Ballia
Ballia
Ballia is a city with a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of the Ganges and the Ghaghara...
; the Baghochhiya, Baksaria, Gautama
Gautama Maharishi
Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --...
, Kaushik
Kaushik
Kaushik/Koushik is ancient Indian'Gotra' applied to an indo-aryan clan. Origin of Kaushik can be referenced to an ancient Hindu text. There was a Rishi by the name of "Vishvamitra" literally meaning 'friend of the universe','vishwa' as in universe and mitra as in 'friend', he was also called as...
and Sakarwar(Sankritya) of Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
; the Barasi, Birhariya and Kaushik
Kaushik
Kaushik/Koushik is ancient Indian'Gotra' applied to an indo-aryan clan. Origin of Kaushik can be referenced to an ancient Hindu text. There was a Rishi by the name of "Vishvamitra" literally meaning 'friend of the universe','vishwa' as in universe and mitra as in 'friend', he was also called as...
of Basti
Basti, Uttar Pradesh
Basti is a town and a municipal board in Basti district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Geography:LOCATION & BOUNDARIES:- The district lies between the parallels of 26° 23' and 27° 30' North and Latitude and 82° 17' and 83° 20' East longitude. Its maximum length from north to south is about...
; and the Barwar, Bharadwaj, Bhriguvansh, Denwar, Gargbans, Gautama
Gautama Maharishi
Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --...
, Purvar, Sakarwar, and Shandilya of Azamgarh
Azamgarh
Azamgarh is a town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is headquarters of Azamgarh district and Azamgarh Division.-History:Azamgarh, one of the easternmost districts of the State, once formed a part of the ancient Kosala kingdom, except the north-eastern part of it which was included in the...
. On the Jijhoutia clan of Bhumihar Brahmins, William Crooke writes, "A branch of the Kanaujia Brahmins (Kanyakubja Brahmins) who take their name from the country of Jajakshuku, which is mentioned in the Madanpur
Madanpur
Madanpur is a census town under Kalyani police station of Kalyani subdivision in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Madanpur is located at . It has an average elevation of .-Demographics:...
inscription."
Domestic ceremonies and religious beliefs
The Bhumihar Brahmins follow in every respect the standard Brahminical rules. They are usually Shaivas and Shaktas. There are some Vaishnavas as followers of RamanujaRamanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
charya in the Tirhut
Tirhut
Historically Tirhut refers to the Indo-Gangetic plains lying north of the Ganges River, in the Indian state of Bihar. The geographical area known as Tirhut corresponds to the ancient region of Mithila. Tirhut, a densely populated area of India, has alluvial plains and several rivers pass through...
region of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. Bhumihar Brahmins, like all other Brahmins are endogamous, but marital relations are known to exist since ancient times between Bhumihar Brahmins and Maithil Brahmins in Tirhut
Tirhut
Historically Tirhut refers to the Indo-Gangetic plains lying north of the Ganges River, in the Indian state of Bihar. The geographical area known as Tirhut corresponds to the ancient region of Mithila. Tirhut, a densely populated area of India, has alluvial plains and several rivers pass through...
and Mithila
Mithila
Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...
and between Bhumihar Brahmins and Kanyakubja Brahmins in Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
region of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
where Jihoutia clan of Bhumihar Brahmins live. Bhumihar Brahmin men of Purnea took to Maithil Brahmin
Maithil Brahmin
Maithil Brahmins form part of ancient Vedic Brahmins. Maithil s are a part of Panch-gauda , a group of highest-ranking castes among Brahmin, who still strive to follow rites and rituals according to ancient Hindu canons. Maithil Brahmin is a community of highly cohesive, and traditional Brahmins...
wives in Purnea and married their daughters to Bhumihar Brahmin/Babhan men.
Political and social movements
Bhumihars are considered a politically volatile community. Bhumihar Brahmins in Champaran had revolted against indigoIndigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
cultivation in 1914 (at Pipra
Pipra
Pipra is a genus of bird in the Pipridae family. It contains the following species:* Crimson-hooded Manakin, Pipra aureola* Round-tailed Manakin, Pipra chloromeros* Scarlet-horned Manakin, Pipra cornuta...
) and 1916 (Turkaulia) and Pandit Raj Kumar Shukla
Raj Kumar Shukla
Raj Kumar Shukla was an indigo cultivator of Champaran , who met Gandhiji to make him aware of the plight of the cultivators in Champaran and persuaded him to come there...
took Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
to Champaran and the Champaran Satyagraha began.
Although the Bhumihars have always constituted a very small proportion of the Bihar population (around 2.8%), they wielded political strength in pre-Mandal
Mandal commission
The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward." It was headed by Indian parliamentarian Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal to consider the question of seat...
politics of Bihar. With the partition of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, their percentage has shot up to 6 percent and all political parties are vying for their votes.
Caste-related violence
Bhumihars, have been involved in many caste-related conflictsCaste-related violence in India
Caste-related violence and hate crimes in India have occurred despite the gradual reduction of casteism in the country.According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Dalits and indigenous peoples continue to face discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence...
. However, it was in reply to the requests made by Yadav
Yadav
Yādav refers to an umbrella group of traditionally non-elite pastoral communities, or castes, in India and Nepal which since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has claimed descent from the mythological King Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence.The term 'Yadav' now...
peasants in 1927, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
had started the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha, which led to the largest peasant movement in the country. Bhumihars also gave Bihar its first chief minister in Sri Krishna Sinha
Sri Krishna Sinha
Sri Krishna Sinha , known as Bihar Kesari, was the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of Bihar . Along with the nationalists Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Sinha is regarded among the Architects of Modern Bihar...
who had himself led Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
's entry into Baidyanath Dham (Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar
Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar
Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba dham and Baidyanath dham is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the most sacred abodes of Shiva. It is located in Deoghar in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India...
).
Following independence, Naxalite groups began to originate in Bihar in response to low wages and alleged illtreatment of Dalit peasants by upper-caste landlords. Some Bhumihars and other upper-caste landlords responded by starting private militias called Senas. These were heavily funded and promoted by some Bhumihar landlords to fight extremist Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
groups which supposedly represented low-caste Bihari peasants. Hostilities began to intensify when in 1994, the Ranvir Sena was founded in Ekwari village to counter Naxal terrorism. Since its formation, the Ranvir Sena has been held responsible for murder, rape and burglary in Bihar. This outfit, along with the Maoist Communist Centre, has been responsible for large-scale violence in Bihar. Incidents of violence have been reported from the villages of Belaur, Bara, Senari, Ekwari, Chandi, Nanaur, Narhi, Sarathau, Haibaspur, Laxmanpur-Bathe, Shankarbigha, and Narayanpur.
Communal violence
Bhumihars along with other Brahmins and RajputRajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s, in some places, were also involved in anti-Muslim communal violence during the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
. and during the 1893 Anti-Muslim riots.