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|footnotes = Commonly called '''Babhan'''
|footnotes = Commonly called '''Babhan'''
}}
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'''Bhumihar Brahmin''' (sometimes shortened to '''Bhumihar''' and also known as '''Babhan''')<ref>{{cite book |title=The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=University of California Press |year=1989 |isbn=9780520057111 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC&pg=PA44|page=44}}</ref> is a [[Hindu]] [[Brahmin]] [[Indian caste system|community]] mainly found in the [[India]]n states of [[Bihar]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Bengal]], [[Bundelkhand]] region of [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Nepal]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=pINgUv_hxcYC&pg=PA45 |title=Political Economy and Class Contradictions: A Study |first=Jose J. |last=Nedumpara |publisher=Anmol |accessdate=2012-07-12}}</ref>{{Pn|date=June 2014}}
A [[Hindu]] [[Brahmin]] [[Indian caste system|community]] mainly found in the [[India]]n states of [[Bihar]], [[Uttar Pradesh]].Bhumihars also present in [[Jharkhand]], [[Bengal]], [[Bundelkhand]] region of [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Nepal]].There is also a significant migrant population of Bhumihars in [[Mauritius]],[[Suriname]], Trinidad and Tobago, [[Guyana]] and others.They also known as bhuinhar brahmin and magadh brahmin or babhan.Bhumihars of Magadha have some connection with bhagwan budha.Opposite to other brahmins bhumihar brahmins simply called themselves bhumihar. In present time many other castes peoples call themselves bhumihar who are not belongs to bhumihar. Kanyakubj brahmin sabha 1926 and 1927 and sarswat brahmin sabha 1929 recognised bhumihars as their part.Most of the Bhumihar are strict vegetarian. Bhumihar brahmins are highly endogamous and they marry with in their caste.They are of strict brahmin values.Many bhumihars are very poor and they are even below poverty line but few of the bhumihars are good ahead in education, business, job sector.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=University of California Press |year=1989 |isbn=9780520057111 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC&pg=PA44|page=44}}</ref>


==traditional priests==
There is also a significant migrant population of Bhumihars in [[Mauritius]],<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Meenakshi |editor-last=Thapan |title=Transnational Migration and the Politics of Identity |publisher=SAGE |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7619-3425-7
{{double image|right|The Maharaja's Fort, Front view -Benares-.jpg|175|Laldaruaza (Ramnagar) -Benares-..jpg|175|Left: The Maharaja's Fort ([[Ramnagar Fort]]), front view, 1869. Right: Entrance gate to the fort, 1905.}}
|page=320}}</ref> [[Suriname]], Trinidad and Tobago, [[Guyana]] and others.
Most of the pandas of prayag,''Gayawar Pandas'' near [[Vishnupad Mandir]] in [[Gaya, India|Gaya]] many bhumihars perform pindadan and shradha function from ancient time and in the adjoining districts like [[Hazaribagh]] bhumihar brahims are Family-priests of local Residentials from ancient time.Bhumihars have been the traditional priests at Tretayugin suryamandir aurngabad bihar from ancient time but most of the shares are shold to sakaldwipi brahmins but still bhumihars have share in temple.The [[Kingdom of Kashi]] belonged to Bhumihar Brahmins and big zamindari like [[Bettiah Raj]], [[Hathwa Raj]], Pandooi Raj and [[Tekari Raj]], Sheohar Raj, Ram Nagar belonged to them. Bhumihars were well respected Brahmins in the courts of [[Dumraon]] Maharaj, [[King of Nepal]] and [[Raj Darbhanga]].

<ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hindus_take_part_in_Muharram_in_Patna/articleshow/2716459.cms |title=Hindus participate in Muharram |publisher=The Times of India |date=21 January 2008
==Etymology==
|accessdate=2008-04-05 |first=Faizan |last=Ahmad}}</ref>
The word ''Bhumihar'' is of relatively recent origin, being derived from ''bhoomi'' (land) and first recorded in 1865. It was adopted as part of a process of upward social mobility.<ref name="Kumar125">{{cite book |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |isbn=9781843317098 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=125 |pages=125-126}}</ref>

==Origins and migration==
As with many castes in India, there are numerous legendary stories regarding the origins of the Bhumihar community, including ones that say they are the offspring of a union between [[Rajput]] men and Brahmin women and that they derive from [[Brahman]]-[[Buddhist]]s whose position in Hindu society was lost due to a "fall". The Bhumihars themselves dislike these particular two tales and maintain that, despite some significant differences between themselves and other Brahmin communities, they are in fact more privileged in status than them.<ref name="Kumar125" />

Oral history suggests that the Bhumihars migrated to [[Bihar]] before the fifteenth-century CE, during a period when the [[Chero]]s and [[Bhar]]s lost control of the region to incoming communities that included Rajputs and [[Muslim]]s. From then, and including when the area became a part of the [[Mughal empire]], the Bhumihars in particular were prominent in village and [[pargana]] life.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=University of California Press |year=1989 |isbn=9780520057111 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC&pg=PA57|page=57}}</ref>

==Occupations==
A part of the Bhumihar belief that they are more privileged than other Brahmins is based on their perceived kingly roles.<ref name="Kumar125" /> In late-nineteenth century [[British India]], Bhumihars were significant landholders in the [[Saran district]] of Bihar. Particularly notable among these [[zamindar]]s was the [[Hathwa Raj]], for which extensive records survive, but there were also many among the caste who had less elevated social standing, being [[ryot]]s or even agricultural labourers. The lower-status members were not, however, treated as poorly as, say, the [[Chamar]]s: the expansion in production of [[indigo]] at this time was reported by administrators to have caused a land shortage that resulted in increased rents being charged but the Bhumihar ryots suffered to a lesser extent from these than some other communities, presumably because they were favoured.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=University of California Press |year=1989 |isbn=9780520057111 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC&pg=PA46|pages=46, 49-50}}</ref> Nirmal Sengupta describes the Bhumihars of Bihar as then comprising some zamindars with "fairly big" estates, such as [[Ganesh Dutt]], and of the rest the majority "constituted the substantial tenantry which, in economic terms, would constitute a section of the upper-middle and rich peasants"; other agriculturalist caste groups in the area, such as the [[Yadav]]s and [[Kurmi]]s, were significantly less diverse in their status.<ref name="Sengupta">{{cite book |title=Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar |editor-first=Arvind N. |editor-last=Das |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1982 |isbn=9780714632162 |first=Nirmal |last=Sengupta |chapter=Agrarian Movements in Bihar |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GL_yRdwbQP8C&pg=PA17 |pages=20, 51}}</ref>

Some Bhumihars served as soldiers in the [[Bengal Army]], which comprised a greater number of upper caste recruits after the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] but had fewer Brahmins from that time because it was believed that they had been significant players in the rebellion. As early as 1842, there had been 28,000 Rajput and 25,000 Brahmin members among the 67,000 Hindus in the force, with Bhumihars being classified as Brahmins.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Robert A. |editor1-last=Bickers |editor2-first=R. G. |editor2-last=Tiedemann |title=The Boxers, China, and the World |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7425-5395-8 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jxgZT6XJUIoC&pg=51 |pages=51, 63 |chapter=(A) Subaltern's Boxer(s): An Indian Soldier's Account of China and the World in 1900-1901 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang}}</ref>

Unlike other Brahmin groups, the Bhumihars would not accept [[alms]].<ref name="Kumar125" />

==Political and social movements==
The [[Permanent Settlement]] introduced by the [[East India Company]] in 1793 to secure revenue from land rents dramatically affected land ownership and social standings in Bihar, giving considerable power to the zamindar class in whom the land was vested. These people became more and more alienated from the traditional village structure and were not generally known for their benevolence, even on the mostly small estates: they led profligate lifestyles, engaged in [[conspicuous consumption]], attempted to extract money and services by illegal as well as licit means and, according to Mitra, were "ignorant idlers, slothful, devoid of education and abilities and therefore totally unable to play the role expected of them". The change in emphasis from rents based on production to rents based on ownership gave them no incentive to invest in such things as irrigation and every incentive in times of economic hardship to seek evictions of tenants so as to achieve higher rents from new occupants. A change in official tack from 1885, when the [[Bengal Tenancy Act]] was introduced and first guaranteed some tenant rights, served to annoy the zamindars and increase expectations among lesser groups. Agrarian tensions were thus not uncommon and further tensions were caused by the British census administrators, whose desire to categorise the numerous castes in terms of their standing socially and in the [[Varna (Hinduism)|ritual varna system]] led to a politicisation of communities in the quest for a favourable official recognition.<ref>{{cite book |title=Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar |editor-first=Arvind N. |editor-last=Das |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1982 |isbn=9780714632162 |first=Nirmal |last=Sengupta |chapter=Agrarian Movements in Bihar |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GL_yRdwbQP8C&pg=PA17 |pages=17-20}}</ref>

The Brahmanic status of the Bhumihars was a matter of debate. They were accepted socially as such but not in ritual terms because they were cultivators. They were not allowed, for example, to perform priestly duties and they had no knowledge of [[Sanskrit]] but as they made economic gains it was this recognition that they sought. Like many other aspirational castes, they followed the process of [[sanskritisation]] to achieve their ends, forming the Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha (BBM) in 1896 as a pressure group.<ref name="Sen1979">{{cite book|author=Siba Pada Sen|title=Social and Religious Reform Movements in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=dDQEAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Insitute of Historical Studies|page=117}}</ref>{{efn|The name of Pradhan Bhumihar Brahman Sabha is also used and appears to refer to the same organisation as the Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha.<ref name="Kumar126">{{cite book |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |isbn=9781843317098 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=126 |page=126}}</ref>}} One significant figure in the BBM was the [[sanyasi]] (mendicant) [[Swami Sahajanand Saraswati]].<ref name="Kumar125" /><ref name="Sengupta51">{{cite book |title=Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar |editor-first=Arvind N. |editor-last=Das |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1982 |isbn=9780714632162 |first=Nirmal |last=Sengupta |chapter=Agrarian Movements in Bihar |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GL_yRdwbQP8C&pg=PA51 |page=51}}</ref>{{efn|Some sources say that Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was in fact of the [[Jujhautiya Brahmin]] community but his involvement in the Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha is not doubted.<ref name="Sengupta51" />}}

In 1899, the Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha, with financial aid from a zamindar, established a college at [[Muzaffarpur]] in northern Bihar.<ref name="Sen1979"/> This was accredited to award degrees in the following year and it was a significant development because education in the area was improving rapidly but students desirous of furthering it had to travel to [[Bhagalpur]], [[Calcutta]] or [[Patna]]. By 1920, 10 per cent of Bhumihars in Bihar were literate, making them one of the few castes of whom this could be said; in this achievement, however, they were well behind the [[Kayastha]]s (33 per cent) and some other groups.<ref>{{cite book |title=Education and Social Changes in Bihar, 1900-1921: A Survey of Social History of Bihar from Lord Curzon to Noncooperation Movement |first=Shreedhar Narayan |last=Pandey |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1975 |isbn=9780842609869 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9PX938QYfmsC&pg=PA6 |pages=6-7, 161, 172-173}}</ref>

As with the Rajputs, Kayasthas and other high castes of Bihar&nbsp;— and as opposed to the methods used by most lower castes&nbsp;— neither the Mahasabha nor any other formal body exercised power to make and enforce caste rules.<ref>{{cite book |title=Education and Social Changes in Bihar, 1900-1921: A Survey of Social History of Bihar from Lord Curzon to Noncooperation Movement |first=Shreedhar Narayan |last=Pandey |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1975 |isbn=9780842609869 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9PX938QYfmsC&pg=PA171 |page=171}}</ref>

According to historian Ashwani Kumar, the Bhumihar claim to Brahmin status means that today "unlike other upper castes, [they] 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."<ref name="Kumar126" />

Bhumihars are considered a politically volatile community.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/767453.cms
| title = BJP, Cong eye Bhumihars as Rabri drops ministers
| author = Abhay Singh
| publisher = [[The Times of India]]
| date = 6 July 2004
| accessdate = 2008-03-21
}}</ref><ref>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20879972_ITM These days, their poster boys are goons]. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 16 March 2004</ref> [[Sri Krishna Sinha]], born into a Bhumihar Brahmin family is considered the architect of modern Bihar.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/867178.cms
| title = Parties 'use' Legendary names as caste icons
| author=Dipak Mishra
|work=The Times of India |location=India
| date = 29 September 2004
| accessdate =5 April 2008
}}</ref> Barring the [[World War II|war years]], Sinha was [[Chief Minister of Bihar]] from the time of the first Congress Ministry in 1937 until his death in 1961.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/Misc/Sss/whcastep.htm
| title = Changing images of caste and politics
| author=Walter Hauser
| date = February 1997
| accessdate =8 April 2008
}}</ref> He led [[Dalit]]’s entry into the Baidyanath Dham temple ([[Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar]]), reflecting his commitment to the upliftment and social empowerment of [[dalits]].<ref name=Kumar05>{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Bhumihars_rooted_to_the_ground_in_caste_politics/articleshow/msid-1001601,curpg-2.cms
| title = Bhumihars rooted to the ground in caste politics
| author=Arun Kumar
|work=The Times of India |location=India
| date = 25 January 2005
| accessdate =5 April 2008
}}</ref> He was the first Chief Minister in the country to abolish the [[zamindar]]i system.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/767453.cms
| title = BJP, Cong eye Bhumihars as Rabri drops ministers
| author=Abhay Singh
|work=The Times of India |location=India
| date = 6 July 2004
| accessdate =21 March 2008
}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Ranvir Sena]]
*[[Saivism]]
*[[Vaishnavism]]
*[[Shaktism]]
*[[Smartism]]
*[[Saraswati]]
*[[Ganesha]]
* [[Jagannath]]
*[[Krishna]]
*[[Rama]]
*[[Buddha]]
*[[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]
*[[Tulsidas]]
*[[Kingdom of Kashi]]- an independent [[Bhumihar Brahmin]] state until 1994.
*[[Royal House of Benares]]- was the ruling [[Bhumihar Brahmin]] family of [[Benares]]
*[[List of Bhumihar Brahmin states]]
*[[List of Bhumihar Brahmin states]]
*[[Sangli State]]
*[[ahimsa]]
*[[Jhansi]]
*[[satya]]
*[[Iyers]]
*[[asteya]]
*[[brahmacharya]]
*[[aparigraha]]


==References==
==References==
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


==Further reading==
===Further reading===
*{{cite book |first=N. L. |last=Gupta |title=Transition from capitalism to socialism, and other essays
*{{cite book |first=N. L. |last=Gupta |title=Transition from capitalism to socialism, and other essays
|publisher=Kalamkar Prakashan |year=1975 |asin=B0000E7XZP }}
|publisher=Kalamkar Prakashan |year=1975 |asin=B0000E7XZP }}
*{{cite book |first=Ranajit |last=Guha |authorlink=Ranajit Guha |title=A Subaltern studies reader, 1986–1995 |publisher=South Asia Books |year=2000|edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-19-565230-7 }}
*{{cite book |first=Ranajit |last=Guha |authorlink=Ranajit Guha |title=A Subaltern studies reader, 1986–1995 |publisher=South Asia Books |year=2000 (2nd edition) |isbn=978-0-19-565230-7 }}
*{{cite book |first=R. K. |last=Maitra |authorlink=R. K. Maitra |title=Indian Studies: past & present |year=1959 |asin=B0000CRX5I }}
*{{cite book |first=R. K. |last=Maitra |authorlink=R. K. Maitra |title=Indian Studies: past & present |year=1959 |asin=B0000CRX5I }}
*{{cite book |first=R. S.|last=Sharma |authorlink=Ram Sharan Sharma |title=Rethinking India's Past
*{{cite book |first=R. S.|last=Sharma |authorlink=Ram Sharan Sharma |title=Rethinking India's Past
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*{{cite book |first=Christopher Alan |last=Bayly |authorlink=Christopher Alan Bayly |title=Recovering Liberties: Indian Thought in the Age of Liberalism and Empire (Ideas in Context) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-10-760147-5}}
*{{cite book |first=Christopher Alan |last=Bayly |authorlink=Christopher Alan Bayly |title=Recovering Liberties: Indian Thought in the Age of Liberalism and Empire (Ideas in Context) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-10-760147-5}}
*{{cite book |first=Gautam |last=Bhadra |authorlink=Gautam Bhadra |title=Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-565125-6}}
*{{cite book |first=Gautam |last=Bhadra |authorlink=Gautam Bhadra |title=Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-565125-6}}
*{{cite journal |last=Sinha |first=Gopal Sharan |author2=Ramesh Chandra Sinha |date=September 1967 |title=Exploration in Caste Stereotypes |jstor=2575319 |journal=Social Forces |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=42–47 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |doi=10.1093/sf/46.1.42}}
*{{cite journal |last=Sinha |first=Gopal Sharan |coauthors=Ramesh Chandra Sinha |date=September 1967 |title=Exploration in Caste Stereotypes |jstor=2575319 |journal=Social Forces |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=42–47 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}
*{{cite book|first=Seema |last=Alavi |authorlink=Seema Alavi |title=The Eighteenth Century in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-569201-3 }}
*{{cite book|first=Seema |last=Alavi |authorlink=Seema Alavi |title=The Eighteenth Century in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-569201-3 }}
*{{cite book|first=Gautam|last=Chatterjee|authorlink=Gautam Chatterjee|title=Sacred Hindu Symbols|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2003|isbn=978-81-7017-397-7}}
*{{cite book |first=Sarvepalli |last=Radhakrishnan |authorlink=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |title=The Hindu View of Life |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-7223-845-2|page=81}}
*{{cite book |first=Sarvepalli |last=Radhakrishnan |authorlink=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |title=The Hindu View of Life |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-7223-845-2|page=81}}
*{{cite book |first=Judith Margaret |last=Brown |authorlink=Judith M. Brown|title=Gandhi's Rise to Power, Indian Politics 1915–1922: Indian Politics 1915–1922|publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |location=New Delhi |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-521-09873-1|page=384}}
*{{cite book |first=Judith Margaret |last=Brown |authorlink=Judith M. Brown|title=Gandhi's Rise to Power, Indian Politics 1915–1922: Indian Politics 1915–1922|publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |location=New Delhi |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-521-09873-1|page=384}}
Line 118: Line 72:
|publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2003 |isbn=978-81-8028-006-1}}
|publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2003 |isbn=978-81-8028-006-1}}
*{{cite book |first=Susan |last=Bayly |title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 |page=203}}
*{{cite book |first=Susan |last=Bayly |title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 |page=203}}
*{{cite book |first=Robert A. Bickers |last=R. G. Tiedemann |title=The Boxers, China, and the World |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7425-5395-8 |page=63}}
*{{cite book|first= C. A. |last= Bayly |authorlink= Christopher Alan Bayly |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-521-31054-3 |page=18 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A9780521310543&pg=PA18}}
*{{cite book|first= C. A. |last= Bayly |authorlink= Christopher Alan Bayly |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-521-31054-3 |page=18 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A9780521310543&pg=PA18}}

* [[Pandurang Vaman Kane]], ''History of Dharmasastra (P.V. Kane)|History of Dharmasastra'', Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
* [[Pandurang Vaman Kane]], ''History of Dharmasastra (P.V. Kane)|History of Dharmasastra'', Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
* Govind Prasad Upadhyay, Brahmanas in Ancient India: A Study in the Roles of the Brahmana Class from 200 BC to AD 500, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi (1979).
* Govind Prasad Upadhyay, Brahmanas in Ancient India: A Study in the Roles of the Brahmana Class from 200 BC to AD 500, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi (1979).

Revision as of 08:51, 25 June 2014

Bhumihar
Total population
6 % of Bihari population[1] plus significant population in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal
Languages
Hindi, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, Angika, Vajjika, Bundeli
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Kanyakubja Brahmins, Jujhautiya Brahmins, Saryupareen Brahmins

Commonly called Babhan

A Hindu Brahmin community mainly found in the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh.Bhumihars also present in Jharkhand, Bengal, Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Nepal.There is also a significant migrant population of Bhumihars in Mauritius,Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and others.They also known as bhuinhar brahmin and magadh brahmin or babhan.Bhumihars of Magadha have some connection with bhagwan budha.Opposite to other brahmins bhumihar brahmins simply called themselves bhumihar. In present time many other castes peoples call themselves bhumihar who are not belongs to bhumihar. Kanyakubj brahmin sabha 1926 and 1927 and sarswat brahmin sabha 1929 recognised bhumihars as their part.Most of the Bhumihar are strict vegetarian. Bhumihar brahmins are highly endogamous and they marry with in their caste.They are of strict brahmin values.Many bhumihars are very poor and they are even below poverty line but few of the bhumihars are good ahead in education, business, job sector.[2]

traditional priests

Most of the pandas of prayag,Gayawar Pandas near Vishnupad Mandir in Gaya many bhumihars perform pindadan and shradha function from ancient time and in the adjoining districts like Hazaribagh bhumihar brahims are Family-priests of local Residentials from ancient time.Bhumihars have been the traditional priests at Tretayugin suryamandir aurngabad bihar from ancient time but most of the shares are shold to sakaldwipi brahmins but still bhumihars have share in temple.The Kingdom of Kashi belonged to Bhumihar Brahmins and big zamindari like Bettiah Raj, Hathwa Raj, Pandooi Raj and Tekari Raj, Sheohar Raj, Ram Nagar belonged to them. Bhumihars were well respected Brahmins in the courts of Dumraon Maharaj, King of Nepal and Raj Darbhanga. [3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Arun Kumar (25 January 2005). "Bhumihars rooted to the ground in caste politics". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  2. ^ Yang, Anand A. (1989). The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920. University of California Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780520057111.
  3. ^ Ahmad, Faizan (21 January 2008). "Hindus participate in Muharram". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 April 2008.

Further reading

  • Pandurang Vaman Kane, History of Dharmasastra (P.V. Kane)|History of Dharmasastra, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
  • Govind Prasad Upadhyay, Brahmanas in Ancient India: A Study in the Roles of the Brahmana Class from 200 BC to AD 500, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi (1979).
  • Rajbali Pandey, Hindu Samskaras: Socio-Religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi (2006).
  • Radha Kumud Mukherjee, Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi (2011).
  • M. N. Srinivas, Social Change in Modern India, Orient Longman, Delhi, 1995.