Bhumihar

Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.

The Bhumihars claim Brahmin status, and are also referred to as 'Bhumihar Brahmin'. In Bihar, they are also known as 'Babhan' and they have also been called 'Bhuinhar'.

The Bhumihars were a prominent land-owning group of eastern India until the 20th century, and controlled some small princely states and zamindari estates in the region. The Bhumihar community played an important role in the peasant movements of India, and was highly influential in politics of Bihar in the 20th century.

Etymology

The word ''bhūmihār'' is of relatively recent origin, first used in the records of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh in 1865. It derives from the words ''bhūmi'' ("land") and ''hāra'' ("one who seizes or confiscates"), referring to the caste's landowner status. The term ''Bhumihar Brahmin'' was adopted by the community in the late 19th century to emphasise their claim of belonging to the priestly Brahmin class. The alternate name ''Babhan'' has been described as an apabhramsha for ''brāhmaṇ'' (Brahmin).

History

As with many castes in India, there are numerous myths regarding the origins of the Bhumihar community. One legend claims that their ancestors were Brahmins who were set up to take the place of the Kshatriyas slain by Parashurama but some non-Bhumihars have implied that they are the mixed-race offspring of Brahmin men and Kshatriya women. Other legends state that they are the offspring of a union between Rajput men and Brahmin women, or that they derive from Brahman-Buddhists who lost their high position in Hindu society. The Bhumihars themselves dislike these narratives involving "hybridity" or "fallen status", and claim to be pure Brahmins.

By the 16th century, the Bhumihars controlled vast stretches of land in eastern India, particularly in north Bihar. By the late eighteenth century, along with Bihari Rajputs, they had established themselves as the most prominent landholders of the region. Oral legends suggest that along with Muslims and Rajputs, they displaced the Bhar and Chero natives of the region. The weakening of the Mughal suzerainty over the region gave rise to several small Bhumihar states. For example, the revenue contractors for the Mughal province of Awadh declared themselves the Maharaja of Benares. They successfully defended their independence against the Nawab of Awadh in the 1750s and 1760s, before becoming a British dependency. Other princely states and fiefdoms ruled by Bhumihars included Bettia, Tekari, Hathwa, Tamukhi, Sheohar, Mahishadal, Pakur and Maheshpur.

The distinctive Bhumihar caste identity was largely created through military service. During early days of British expansion in India, Bhumihars under Raja of Banaras, Cheyt singh participated in revolts against the East India Company. After his defeat, the Company started recruiting Bhumihar sepoys in large numbers until the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Varna status

Bhumihars claim to be descendants of Brahmins who held land grants. However, Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya promoted a more popular narrative according to which they were a "low caste" group who were promoted to the status of Brahmin on the order of a ruler who wanted presence of a large number of Brahmins to celebrate his religious festivals. The other popular narratives about their origin is that they belonged to a low caste tribe called "Bhuyans" who gained land and proverted themselves as Brahmins when faced unequal treatment at the hands of sacerdotal authorities. Other communities also do not give them the ritual status of priestly Brahmins, as most of them were cultivators during the British Raj. Some of the early censuses of British India categorised Bhumihars of Bihar as Shudras, the lowest of the four varnas. This was considered insulting, especially since several zamindars (land-owning aristocrats) were Bhumihars. Unlike the Brahmans or Rajputs, the Bhumihars did not participate in the rebellion against British rule in India in 1857, and to their dismay, they were consequently placed in the third-lowest varna in the ad-hoc census of 1865 and the regular census of 1881.

Like many other castes, the Bhumihars followed the process of sanskritisation to achieve their end. The Bhumihar zamindars and princely state rulers established caste-based associations (''sabha''s) to form a community network and to advance their claims to Brahmin status. The ''Pradhan Bhumihar Brahman Sabha'' ("Chief Assembly of Bhumihar Brahmins") was established in Patna in 1889. Its objective was "to improve moral, social and educational reforms of the community and to represent the wants of the community to the government". The Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha ("great assembly") was established in 1896. The local ''Bhumihar Brahmin Sabha''s included the ones at Muzaffarpur (1899), Patna (1899), Gaya (1900) and Saran (1908).

These associations made numerous petitions to be classified as Brahmins in the 1901 census report. Persistent pressure from the Mahasabha, who glorified the history of the community, led to official recognition of the Bhumihars as Brahmins in the later Raj censuses. According to Ashwani Kumar, the Bhumihar claim to Brahmin status means that today "unlike other upper castes, heyguard the local caste hierarchy more zealously for they perpetually feel the pressure of being dislocated and discredited in the topsy-turvy world of caste."

Besides campaigning for the Brahmin status, the caste associations also played an important role in general welfare of the community. In 1899, the Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha, with financial aid from a zamindar, established a college at Muzaffarpur. 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 literate castes; in this achievement, however, they were well behind the Kayasthas (33 per cent) and some other groups. In the first half of the 20th century, the Bhumihars suffered increasing economic hardships due to the steady fragmentation of land rights among heirs and the decline in agricultural prices during the Great Depression. During this period, the Bhumihar associations served as community networks that facilitated access to English education and urban employment. As with the Rajputs, Kayasthas and other high castes of Bihar – and as opposed to the methods used by most lower castes – neither the Mahasabha nor any other formal body exercised power to make and enforce caste rules.

The Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha held annual sessions in different parts of present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Among its prominent leaders was Sahajanand Saraswati, a leader of the Bhumihar Brahmin Sabha of Patna. During the Balia session of 1914, Sahajanand defended the Brahmin status of the Bhumihars, using quotes from Hindu scriptures to argue that priestly functions do not alone define Brahmins. In 1916, he published a book titled ''Bhumihar Brahmin Parichay'' ("Introduction to Bhumihar Brahmins"), which outlined these arguments. He classified Brahmins into two categories – begging (''yachak'') and non-begging (''ayachak'') – and stated that the Bhumihars were among the non-begging Brahmins. The Bhumihars of Uttar Pradesh attempted to popularise the term "Bhumihar Brahmin", while discarding the term "Babhan". However, the term "Babhan" remained popular in Bihar. The recognised Brahmins did not favour the Bhumihar attempts to claim an equal status, and even stopped going to Bhumihar homes to perform ceremonies.

Political influence

Being traditional landlords and one of the early literate castes, the Bhumihars have been influential in the politics of Bihar since the British days. Noted Bhumihar princely state rulers included Harendra Kishore Singh (Raja of Bettiah) and Vibhuti Narayan Singh (Raja of the Benares).

The Bhumihars played a pioneering role in organising peasant, leftist and independence movements since the 1910s. In 1914 and 1916, the Bhumihars of Pipra and Turkaulia revolted against indigo cultivation. When Mahatma Gandhi launched a satyagraha against indigo cultivation in Motihari in 1917, a number of Bhumihar intellectuals joined the protest. These included Shri Krishna Singh (or Sinha), Ram Dayalu Singh, Ramnandan Mishra, Shilbhadra Yaji, Karyanand Sharma and Sahajanand Saraswati.

While a section of Bhumihars were landowners, the vast majority belonged to tenantry. Starting in 1914, two factions emerged in the Bhumihar Mahasabha: the landowner-dominated faction led by Ganesh Dutt, and the tenant-dominated faction led by Sahajanand Saraswati. Sahajanand came from a zamindar family, which had been reduced to tenant status. He attracted a large number of followers who, as tenants, were exploited by the rich landlords. His support for the non-cooperation movement

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