How Bhumihar Originated? By Akhilesh Jha, IPS, Ex-DIG, Gold Medalist

 Why is it in the news?

1. RJD leader Tejasvi Yadav made an aggressive bid to reach out to the Bhumihar community, a powerful upper cast in Bihar in an obvious attempt to broaden the support base of the party which has largely been identified as the Muslim Yadav combination nurtured by his father Lalu Prasad Yadav

2. The Bhumiyar have their highest concentration in Bihar where they have enjoyed tremendous political and economic clout 

3. The first chief minister of Bihar in the independent India Sri Krishna Singh was a Bhumiyar who ruled for next 14 years 

4. After the death of Sri Krishna Singh and in the post Mandal era, the clout of Bhumihar leaders diminished

5. In the post Mandal era, Bhumihar have been voting for BJP but now they feel that they are being side lined by the BJP leadership and so RJD leader Tejasvi Yadav participated in the Parsuram Jayanti to woo Bhumihar caste in his favour  

6.The BJP reacted sharply and alleged that Bihar could never forget the massacre of thousands of Bhumihars that took place when the state was ruled by Lalu Prasad Yadav

7.The population of Bhumihars in Bihar is around 6% that is 70-80 lakhs

8. In addition, Bhumihars are also found in U.P., M.P. (Bundelkhand), Jharkhand, and West Bengal

9. Although they are numerically small when compared to Yadav, Brahmins, but they are landed gentry in Bihar and are economically and politically very much powerful

10.Bhumihars community played an important role in the peasant movement of India.

11.Shajanand Saraswati was the biggest peasant leader in U.P. and Bihar

How Bhumihar Originated?

        Watch detailed explanation by Akhilesh Jha, IPS, Ex-DIG, Gold Medalist

1. There is no unanimity regarding the origin of Bhumihar . 2. It means those who are holding Lands or one who seizes or confiscates lands 3. The term Bhumihar was first used in the records of united province of Agra and Awadh in 1865 4. According to Ashwini Kumar, in the late 19th Century, they started claiming of belonging to the priestly Brahmin class (1) {community warriors- state peasants and caste armies in Bihar} 5. According to Gopal Sharan Sinha, they are also called Babhan which is corrupted word of Brahmans. 6. They are also called Bhuinhar 7. There are numerous myths regarding the origin of Bhumihar community a. According to Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya, Bhumihar are the mixed race or offspring of Brahmins men and Kshatriya women {Hindu caste and sects} b. The other theory is that when Kshatriyas were slain by Lord Parshuram, they left their ancestral jobs of Brahmins and took the job of Kshatriyas c. According to Ashwini Kumar, they are the offspring of a union between the Rajput man and Brahmin Woman or offsprings of Buddhists. But the Bhumihar themselves disliked this hybridity and claim to be pure Brahmins d. after the decline of Mughal empire, the revenue farmers became independent and established their Zamindari in U.P. and Bihar e. Bhumihar Zamindars established their Zamindari at Bettia, Tekari, Hathwa, Sheohar, Pakur, Maheshpur, Mahishadal etc. 8.The other Theory is that Bhumihars belongs to tribe called Bhuyans who gained land grants and declared themselves as Brahmins when faced unequal treatment at the hands of priestly brahmins through the process of Sanskritization 9. According to Arvind Narayan Das, other communities also do not give them the ritual status of priestly brahmin class during British Raj (Arvind Narayan Das book – Agrarian Movements in India) 10. In the early census during British India, Bhumihars of Bihar were categorised into Shudras 11. According to Purushottam Kumar, In the census of 1881, Bhumihars were placed into the category of Vaishya Varna by British Government because the government were very much pleased that Bhumihar Zamindars did not participated in the 1857 revolt {Bhumihar’s struggle for Brahmin Status} 12. In the late 19th century Bhumihar Zamindars established Pradhan Bhumihar Brahman Sabha in 1889 to improve moral, social and educational reforms of the community. Similar, Bhumihar Brahman Sabha was established in Muzaffarpur, Gaya and Sarang 13. These associations made numerous petitions to the British Government and British Government gave official recognition to Bhumihar as Brahmins in the later censuses 14. According to Ashwini Kumar, Bhumihar guard the local caste hierarchy more zealously for they perpetually feel the pressure of being dislocated and discredited in the topsy-turvy world of caste

Conclusion

1. There is no unanimity regarding the origin of Bhumihar.

2.  Some scholars argue that Bhumihars originated after the decline of Buddhism in eastern India. Since, those Buddhists were land owners they were called Bhumihars and placed below the Brahmins and above the Rajputs in the Varna hierarchy

3.  Some scholars are of the views that they were tribes called Bhuyans earlier and were transformed into caste by the process of Sanskritization

4.  Others view that Bhumihar originated from revenue farmers who became Zamindars after the decline of the Mughal empire and became independent. Since these Zamindars did not participate in the 1857 revolt, the British Government gave favour to them. Moreover, the British Government confiscated lands of Rajputs and Brahmins of eastern U.P. and Bihar because of their participation in the 1857 revolt.

5.  The vacuum created by the confiscation of lands of Rajputs and Brahmins in rural areas of eastern U.P. and Bihar was filled by Bhumihars.

6. They monopolised lands in rural areas. The military services rendered by them to the British Government further strengthened their status in the society

7. Because of the political and economic clout of Bhumihars, they demanded Brahmin status from British Government and the British Government awarded them Brahmin status in 1901 census

8. But the honeymoon of Bhumihars with the British Government ended in 1930 onwards when Swami Shajanand Saraswati launched a massive peasant movement in India and the slogan was land to the tiller.

9. Thus, we conclude that there is no single theory of the origin of Bhumihar. Some originated from tribe caste continuum process, some originated from land holding Buddhists, some originated through Anulom Marriage between Brahmin Boy and Rajput Girl. Some originated through the Sanskritization process whereby Big Zamindari status made them anxious about their varna hierarchy and therefore demanded Brahmin status. But priestly Brahmins never accepted Bhumihar Brahmins as their own caste men. Nor they acquiesced to marriage between them.