The Bhogta (also known as Ganjhu, Pradhan) is an agricultural community, primarily inhabiting in the state of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, Jharkhand and

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. They speak

Sadri language Nagpuri (also known as Sadri) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It is primarily spoken in the west and central Chota Nagpur plateau region. It is the native language of the Sadan, ...

as mother tongue except Bhogta of West Bengal, who are adopted

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

as mother tongue and use

Hindi Language Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''li ...

as link language.Alt URL
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Social structure

The Bhogta are traditionally cultivators and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. The Bhogta of Bihar divided into eight clan, i.e. Damajhwar, Saichumair (Saichuniar), Bhumchuriar (Bhumchuniar), Rimrimria, Pathbhandhi, Musuar, Kmariar (Kawliar), Beharwar and the Bhogta of West Bengal divided into Hans, Mur, Kaua, etc. They use surname like Bhogta, Ganjhu and Singh.

Official classification

As per 1981 census the Bhogta population in Bihar (include Jharkhand) was 137,175 and as per 1952 census their population was 13,807 in West Bengal. They were previously classified as Scheduled Castes for affirmative action. But in 2022, the Bhogta of Jharkhand state are classified as a Scheduled Tribe, as a synonym of

Kharwar Kharwar is a surname used by odh found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal in India and Sindh in Pakistan. Etymology The ''Khar'' grass is totem of the Kharwar. They don't cut or inju ...

Notable people

Nilamber and Pitamber Nilamber and Pitamber were tribal brothers and freedom fighters from Jharkhand, eastern India, who led a revolt against the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. They were born into a family of Bhogta clan of Kharwar tribe in ...

, freedom fighter in 1857 * Jay Prakash Singh Bhogta, politician * Mahendra Prakash Singh Bhogta, politician *

Satyanand Bhogta Satyanand Bhogta is an Indian Politician and a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. He is the ex cabinet minister for ministry of Labour Resources in Government of Jharkhand and a member of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly from Chat ...

, politician * Nikki Pradhan, hockey player

References

{{India-ethno-stub Scheduled Tribes of Jharkhand