Bihari Ahir

Bihari Ahirs or Ahirs of Bihar refers to the people of Ahir/Yadav community of the Indian state of Bihar. They are also known as Yadav, Gope, Rai etc. The Yadavs form nearly 14.4% of the state's population and are included in the Other Backward Class category.[1]

Bihari Ahir
ReligionsHindu
Languages
Original stateBihar
RegionEast India

History

Bihari Ahirs like all Yadavs claim that they are descendants from Krishna of ancient Yadu tribe mentioned in Rigveda.[2]

List of chieftain and zamindari

During the medieval and later colonial periods, many parts of the Bihar were ruled as sovereign or zamindari by various clans of Ahirs/Yadavs.[3] The Ahir zamindars were predominantly found in northern and eastern parts of Bihar.[4]

  • Rati Raut, an Ahir chief of Rati Paragana in north Bihar.[5][6]
  • Daso Ahir, Raja of Bhojpur.[7]
  • Ahir chief of Ruidas-Patna.[8]
  • Ahir Rajas of Gawror Fort, Patna.[9][10]
  • Ahir/Yadav Chieftain of Murho Estate (Madhepura).[11][12]
  • Kishnaut Ahir zamindars of Parasadi and Parsauna (Saran).[13]

Subdivision

There are 4 main sub-castes of Ahirs in Bihar, Kishnaut, Majraut, Kannaujia and Goria. Apart from these four, Ahir sub-caste like Dhadhor, Gwal and Sadgop are also found in small numbers.[14] Among them Krishnaut and Majhraut never sell either milk, ghee or butter, and have, to a large extent, became cultivator.[15]

Title

The titles generally used by Ahirs in Bihar are Yadav, Rai, Roy, Chaudhary, Gope, Mandal, Singh, Raut, Bhagat, Das, Mahato etc.

Culture

Caste deities

In Kosi division of Bihar, people of the Ahir (Yadav) caste worship their caste deity Bisu Raut, whose temple is situated on the banks of the Gogri river.[16][17]

Politics

Around 1933–1934, the Yadavs joined with the Kurmis and Koeris to form the Triveni Sangh, a caste federation that by 1936 claimed to have a million supporters. This coalition followed an alliance for the 1930 local elections which fared badly at the polls. The new grouping had little electoral success: it won a few seats in the 1937 elections but was stymied by a two-pronged opposition which saw the rival Congress wooing some of its more wealthy leading lights to a newly formed unit called the "Backward Class Federation" and an effective opposition from upper castes organised to keep the lower castes in their customary place. Added to this, the three putatively allied castes were unable to set aside their communal rivalries and the Triveni Sangh also faced competition from the All India Kisan Sabha, a peasant-oriented socio-political campaigning group run by the Communists. The appeal of the Triveni Sangh had waned significantly by 1947[18][19] but had achieved a measure of success away from the ballot box, notably by exerting sufficient influence to bring an end to the begar system of forced unpaid labour and by providing a platform for those voices seeking reservation of jobs in government for people who were not upper castes.[20] Many years later, in 1965, there was an abortive attempt to revive the defunct federation.[21]

In the post Mandal phase Kurmi, Koeri and Yadav, the three backward castes who constitute the upper-OBC due to their advantageous position in the socio-economic sphere of agrarian society became the new political elite of the state.[22]

Present circumstances

It is shown in the Bengal Census Report that 80 per cent of the Ahirs in Bihar are engaged in agriculture.[23]

According to a report of Institute Of Human Development Studies, among the upper-backwards, castes like Kushwahas and Kurmis earn Rs 18,811 and Rs 17,835 respectively as their average per capita income, which is slight lesser than those earned by upper-caste, who earn 20,655 as their average per capita income. In contrast, Yadavs’ income is one of the lowest among OBCs at Rs 12,314, which is slightly less than the rest of OBCs (Rs 12,617). According to this report, the economic benefits of the Mandal politics could be seen as affecting only few backward castes of agrarian background leading to their upward mobilisation. Yadavs, who are considered as politically most dominant caste in Bihar have failed to translate their upward mobilisation in other fields.[24]

See also

References
  1. "Bihar Elections 2015: In Yadav strongholds, Lalu's charm still endures". DNA India. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  2. Pinch, William R. (1996-06-18). Peasants and Monks in British India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91630-2.
  3. Barik, Radhakanta (2006). Land and Caste Politics in Bihar. Shipra Publications. ISBN 978-81-7541-305-4.
  4. Bihar men samajik parivartan ke kuchh ayam (in Hindi). Vani Prakashan. 2001. ISBN 978-81-7055-755-5.
  5. Sinha, Sachchidanand (1982). Caste System: Myths, Reality, Challenge. Intellectual Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-8364-0791-4.
  6. Sinha, Sachidanand (2009-09-01). Jati Vyavstha (in Hindi). Rajkamal Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-267-1414-8.
  7. Historical Researches Series. 1963.
  8. Prasad, R. R. (1996). Encyclopaedic Profile of Indian Tribes. Discovery Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7141-298-3.
  9. Department, Bengal (India) Public Works (1896). List of Ancient Monuments in the Patna Division. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press.
  10. Historical Researches Series. 1963.
  11. Department, Bengal (India) Revenue (1909). Report on the Administration of the Wards, Attached and Trust Estates.
  12. "A village that symbolises Bihar". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  13. The National Geographical Journal of India. National Geographical Society of India. 1975.
  14. Pandey, Shyam Manohar (1982). The Hindi oral epic Canainī: the tale of Lorik and Candā (in Hindi). Sahitya Bhawan.
  15. Hunter, William Wilson (1877). A Statistical Account of Bengal. Trübner & Company.
  16. Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1965). Bihar District Gazetteers: Saharsa. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
  17. Byrne, Joseph (2011). Bhagalpur. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7268-203-3.
  18. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India (Reprinted ed.). C. Hurst & Co. pp. 197–198. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  19. Kumar, Ashwani (2008). Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar. Anthem Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-84331-709-8.
  20. Kumar, Ashwani (2008). Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar. Anthem Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-84331-709-8.
  21. Kumar, Ashwani (2008). Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar. Anthem Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-84331-709-8.
  22. Kumar, Sanjay (2018-02-19). Post-Mandal Politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 978-93-5280-586-0.
  23. Commons, Great Britain Parliament House of (1904). Parliamentary Papers. H.M. Stationery Office.
  24. Christophe Jaffrelot; Kalaiyarasan A (eds.). "Lower castes in Bihar have got political power, not economic progress". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
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