Biharis

The Biharis (listen ) is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis.[1] They are also further divided into a variety of hereditary caste groups.[2] In Bihar today, the Bihari identity is seen as secondary to caste/clan, linguistic and religious identity but nonetheless is a subset of the larger Indian identity.[3]

For Bihari Muslims who settled in Pakistan, see Muhajir people.

Bihari people
Total population
c. 110 million
Regions with significant populations
Bihar, Karachi and mainly in large cities across India & Pakistan
Languages
Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Urdu
Religion
Predominantly:
Hinduism
Minority:
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan peoples

Biharis can be found throughout India, and in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During the Partition of India in 1947, many Bihari Muslims migrated to East Bengal (later East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh or Pakistan).[4][5] Bihari people are also well represented in the Muhajir people of Pakistan (formerly West Pakistan) because of Partition.[6] [7]

History
Commemorative stamp of Shri Krishna Singh, the first Chief Minister of Bihar
Main article: History of Bihar

Bihar is one of the longest inhabited places in the world with a history going back to the Neolithic age.[8] Since that time, Biharis have long been involved in some of the most important events in South Asian history. Biharis were the founders of many great empires based out of Magadh including the Maurya Empire and the Gupta Empire.[9] Both of these empires had their capitals in Pataliputra (modern-day Patna).

Two of India's major religions also have their origins in Bihar. Gautama Buddha who was the founder of Buddhism, achieved enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, was born in Vaishali in North Bihar.[10]

Martial tradition

Many academics including Dirk Kolff and Walter Hauser have noted that Bihar has a history of armed activism among its peasantry.[11] For centuries, Purbiya soldiers from Western Bihar have long served as soldiers in the armies of Kings in Western regions of India. Mughal sources also record that many peasant soldiers were recruited from Northern parts of Bihar (Tirhut).[12] The Bihari Soldiers of British army played a major role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British following the suppression of the uprising, British authorities decided not to recruit troops from Bihar. Then they decided to recruit troops from Sikh and Muslim Communities of the Punjab.[13] This martial heritage continued into the late 20th century with the formation of private armies or senas that were formed to maintain the interests of specific castes.[11]

Servan-Schreiber described this martial tradition as follows[14]:

For any traveler on the roads of Bihar, an inescapable image comes to mind. That of a peasant who always keeps his wooden club or lathi at hand, under no circumstances letting it out of his reach. The Biharis, who constitute a martial race in India similar to the Sikhs or the Pathans, in keeping with the role conceived by the British colonial administration, were a mother lode for Monghol and English army recruiters. Their independent fighting spirit, which has earned them a reputation for toughness, has been in evidence throughout their history.

Clothing

The traditional dress of Bihari people includes the dhoti-mirjai (a modified form of the flowing jama)[15] or the kurta (replacing the older outfit of the dhoti and chapkan which is a robe fastened on the right)[16] for men and Saree for women. In everyday life women wear saree or Kameez-Salwar. The saree is worn in "Seedha Aanchal" style traditionally.[17] Nevertheless, Western shirts and trousers are becoming popular among the both rural and urban male population.[17] And Salwar-Kameez for women in urban Bihar. Jewellery such as rings for men and bangles for women are popular. However, there are some traditional Bihari jewelries like "Chhara", "Hansuli", "Kamarbandh", etc.[17]

Language and literature
See also: Maithili language, Bhojpuri, Angika, Magahi, Magadhi Prakrit, Hindi in Bihar, and Urdu Language in Bihar
Maithili language in Tirhuta and Devanagari scripts

Hindi is the official language of the State.[18] Maithili (61 million speakers including Bajjika dialect which has 11 million speakers in India),[19] and Urdu[20] are other recognised languages of the state. Unrecognised languages of the state are Bhojpuri (60 million), Angika (30 million) and Magahi (20 million).[19][21] Bhojpuri and Magahi are sociolinguistically a part of the Hindi Belt languages fold, thus they were not granted official status in the state.The number of speakers of the Bihari languages is difficult to count because of unreliable sources. In the urban region, most educated speakers of the language name Hindi as their language because this is what they use in formal contexts and believe it to be the appropriate response because of unawareness. The uneducated and the rural population of the region regards Hindi as the generic name for their language.[22]

Despite of the large number of speakers of Bihari languages, they have not been constitutionally recognized in India, except Maithili which is recognised under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters in Bihar.[23] These languages was legally absorbed under the subordinate label of Hindi in the 1961 Census. Such state and national politics are creating conditions for language endangerment.[24] The first success for spreading Hindi occurred in Bihar in 1881, when Hindi displaced Urdu as the sole official language of the province. In this struggle between competing Hindi and Urdu, the potential claims of the three large mother tongues in the region – Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi were ignored. After independence Hindi was again given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950.[25] Urdu became the second official language in the undivided State of Bihar on 16 August 1989. Bihar also produced several eminent Urdu writers including Sulaiman Nadvi, Manazir Ahsan Gilani, Abdul Qavi Desnavi, Paigham Afaqui, Jabir Husain, Sohail Azimabadi, Hussain Ul Haque, Dr. Shamim Hashimi,[26] Wahab Ashrafi[27] etc.

Bihar has produced a number of writers of Hindi, including Raja Radhika Raman Singh, Shiva Pujan Sahay, Divakar Prasad Vidyarthy, Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', Ram Briksh Benipuri, Phanishwar Nath 'Renu', Gopal Singh "Nepali" and Baba Nagarjun. Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan, the great writer and Buddhist scholar, was born in U.P. but spent his life in the land of Lord Buddha, i.e., Bihar. Hrishikesh Sulabh and Neeraj Singh (from Ara) are the prominent writer of the new generation. They are short story writer, playwright and theatre critic. Arun Kamal and Aalok Dhanwa are the well-known poets. Different regional languages also have produced some prominent poets and authors. Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, who is among the greatest writers in Bengali, resided for some time in Bihar. Upamanyu Chatterjee also hails from Patna in Bihar. Devaki Nandan Khatri, who rose to fame at the beginning of the 20th century on account of his novels such as Chandrakanta and Chandrakanta Santati, was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Vidyapati Thakur is the most renowned poet of Maithili (c. 14–15th century). Satyapal Chandra[28] has written many English bestseller novels and he is one of India's emerging young writer.

Castes and ethnic groups

Bihari society follows a very rigid caste system, which influences daily life and politics.[29]

The 2011 Census of India indicated that Scheduled Castes constituted 15% of Bihar's 10.4 crores population.[30][31] The census identified 21 of 23 Dalit sub-castes as Mahadalits.[32] The Mahadalit community consists of the following sub-castes: Bantar, Bauri, Bhogta, Bhuiya, Chaupal, Dabgar, Dom (Dhangad), Ghasi, Halalkhor, Hari (Mehtar, Bhangi), Kanjar, Kurariar, Lalbegi, Musahar, Nat, Pan (Swasi), Rajwar, Turi, Dhobi, Chamar and Dusadh[33] The Paswan caste was initially left out of the Mahadalit category, to the consternation of Ram Vilas Paswan.[34][35]Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes) constituted around 1.3% of the Bihari population.[36][37][38] They include the Gond, Santhal and Tharu communities.[39][40] There are about 130 Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) in Bihar.[41][42]

Castes of Bihar[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]
CastePopulation (%)Notes
OBC/EBC 56% Yadavs - 16%
Kurmis - 4

%(Dhanuk Kurmi with 1.5% population are included under EBCs)
Kushwaha(Koeri, Maurya, Shakya, Saini, Etc.) - 6%
(EBCs - 26%[41][52][53][54][55] -includes,[56][57][58] Teli-3.2%)

Mahadalits*+ Dalits(SCs) 15%[59][60] includes Dusadh- 5%, Musahar- 2.8%[61]and others
Muslims 16.9%[62] includes (Ashrafi) Sayyid, Sheikh Mughal Pathan castes[63][64]
Forward caste 15%


Four upper-castes - Brahmins, 5%Bhumihars/Babhan, 5%Rajputs 4% and Kayasthas -1% 4constitute around 15% of the state's population.[65] [66]
Adivasis(STs) 1.3%[67][68]
Others 0.4% Includes Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists

Religion
Main article: Religion in Bihar

According to the 2011 census, 82.7% of Bihar's population practiced Hinduism, while 16.9% followed Islam.[69]

ReligionPopulation
Hindu82.7
Muslim16.9
Others0.4

Bihari diaspora

Pakistan and Bangladesh

During the partition of India in 1947, many Biharis moved to both West Pakistan and East Pakistan, where they were counted among other Muhajirs and still are in present-day Pakistan. About one million Urdu speakers moved to what was then East Bengal adjacent to their Bihar province in eastern India.[70]

When East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh in December 1971, 83,000 Biharis (58,000 former civil servants and military personnel) wanting to leave being ethnic Urdu-speakers, members of divided families and 25,000 hardship cases were evacuated to Pakistan. By 1974, 108,000 had been transferred to Pakistan (mainly by air); by 1981, about 163,000. The remaining Biharis of East Bengal were left behind and found themselves unwelcomed in both countries. Pakistan did not wish to accept the Biharis left in the newly formed Bangladesh as it saw itself a struggling to manage thousands of Afghan refugees at that time,[71] while Bangladeshis scorned the ethnic Biharis for having supported and sided with the West Pakistan during the war and preferring their native Urdu over the Bengali Language Movement.

With little or no legal negotiation about offering the Biharis Pakistani citizenship or safe conduit back home to their native Bihar in India, the Biharis (called "stranded Pakistanis" by some Bangladeshi politicians) have remained stateless for 33 years. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not addressed the plight of the Biharis. An estimated 600,000 Biharis live in 66 camps in 13 regions across Bangladesh, and an equal number have acquired Bangladeshi citizenship. In 1990, a small number of Biharis were allowed to immigrate to Pakistan.

Pakistan has reiterated that as the successor state of East Pakistan, Bangladesh should accept the Biharis as full citizens. Pakistani politicians and government officials have refused to accept these nearly 300,000 stranded Pakistanis of Bihari origin due to inability to absorb such a large number of immigrants at the moment.

In May 2008, a Bangladeshi court ruled that Biharis who were either minors in 1971 or born after 1971 are Bangladeshi citizens and have the right to vote.[72][73] As a result of the ruling, an estimated 150,000 of the 300,000 Biharis living in Bangladesh are eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship.[73] Although the court ruling explicitly said that the Biharis are eligible to register to vote in the December 2008 elections, the Election Commission closed its rolls in August 2008 without enrolling them.[74]

Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, Myanmar and South Africa
See also: Indian diaspora and Greater India

A large number of people from the Bihar Province of British India travelled to various parts of the world in the 19th century to serve as indentured labours on sugarcane, cocoa, rice, and rubber plantations in the Caribbean, Fiji. Mauritius, Myanmar and Natal, South Africa.

A majority of Indo-Mauritians are Bihari Mauritians.[75] Most of the Mauritian Prime Ministers were Indo-Mauritians of Bihari descent.[76] Many Indo-Caribbeans are of Bihari descent or hail from the Awadh region in [[Uttar Pradesh].

Bihari sub-nationalism

According to social scientist Dr. Shaibal Gupta, the beating of students from Bihar in Mumbai in October 2008, has consolidated Bihari sub-nationalism.[77]

See also

References
  1. Brass, Paul R. (2005). Language, Religion and Politics in North India. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-595-34394-2.
  2. Dipankar Gupta (8 December 2004). Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy?. SAGE Publications. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0-7619-3324-3.
  3. Verma, Jyoti (2019). "Bihari Identity: An Uncharted Question". Psychology and Developing Societies. 31: 315–342. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. "Bangladesh: Stateless Biharis Grasp for a Resolution and Their Rights". Refugees International. Archived from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
  5. "Stateless in Bangladesh and Pakistan". Stateless People in Bangladesh Inc. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
  6. "Pakistan under attack!". The Tribune (Editorial). Chandigarh. 20 September 2000. Archived from the original on 9 February 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
  7. "Assessment for Biharis in Bangladesh". Center for International Development and Conflict Management. Archived from the original on 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  8. "Directorate of Archaeology - Page 2".
  9. West, Barbara A. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4381-1913-7.
  10. Titze, Kurt; Bruhn, Klaus (1998). Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-violence. ISBN 9788120815346.
  11. Walter Hauser (2004). "From Peasant Soldiering to Peasant Activism: Reflections on the Transition of a Martial Tradition in the Flaming Fields of Bihar". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 47 (3): 401–434. doi:10.1163/1568520041974684. JSTOR 25165055.
  12. Pankaj Jha (20 November 2018). A Political History of Literature: Vidyapati and the Fifteenth Century. OUP India. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-19-909535-3.
  13. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=q5JECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6
  14. Servan-Schreiber, Catherine (1998). "Indian Epics of the Terai Conquest: The Story of a Migration". Diogenes. doi:10.1177/039219219804618106.
  15. Winer, Lise (2009) Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago: On Historical Principles Archived 10 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  16. O`malley, L.S.S. Bihar And Orissa Gazetteers Shahabad. Logos Press. p. 51. ISBN 9788172681227. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  17. "Bihari Clothing". Web India 123. Archived from the original on 21 November 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
  18. "The Bihar Official Language Act, 1950" (PDF). Cabinet Secretariat Department, Government of Bihar. 1950. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  19. Chitransh, Anugya (1 September 2012). "Bhojpuri is not the only language in Bihar". Hill Post. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  20. Benedikter, Thomas (2009). Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India: An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India. Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 89. ISBN 978-3-643-10231-7. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  21. Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, eds. (11 September 2003). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge Language Family Series. Routledge. p. 500. ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5. ...the number of speakers of Bihari languages are difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban region most educated speakers of the language name Hindi as their language because this is what they use in formal contexts and believe it to be the appropriate response because of lack of awareness. The uneducated and the urban population of the region return Hindi as the generic name for their language.
  22. Jain, Dhanesh; Cardona, George (2003). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 500. The number of speakers of Bihari languages are difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban region, most educated speakers of the language name either Hindi or Urdu as their language because this is what they use in formal contexts and believe it to be the appropriate response because of unawareness. The uneducated and the rural population of the region regards Hindi or Urdu as the generic name for their language.
  23. History of Indian languages Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Bihari is actually the name of a group of three related languages—Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Magahi—spoken mainly in northeastern India in Bihar."
  24. Verma, Mahandra K. "Language Endangerment and Indian languages: An exploration and a critique". Linguistic Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia.
  25. Brass Paul R., The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge University Press, pp. 183
  26. "Dr. Shamim Hashimi". Urdu Literature. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  27. "Professor Dr. Syed Abdul Wahab Ashrafi". Biharanjuman.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  28. "After 11 novels, Bihar lad set for Bollywood debut - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  29. Barik, R. (2006). Land and caste politics in Bihar. Shipra Publications. ISBN 9788175413054. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  30. Utpal Bhaskar (27 August 2015). "Foreign diplomats line up for Bihar elections". livemint.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016.
  31. "How Bihar Elections Could Shape India's Future". HuffPost. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016.
  32. "Bihar polls: Jitan Ram Manjhi announces alliance with BJP". 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015.
  33. "Ram Vilas Paswan-Jitan Ram Manjhi battle for Mahadalit leadership making it tough for BJP in Bihar". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  34. Banerjee, Shoumojit (19 November 2009). "Non-inclusion of Paswans in Mahadalit list angers Paswan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  35. "Bihar CM includes Paswan caste in Mahadalit category". Business Standard India. 15 February 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  36. Banerjee, Shoumojit (16 August 2009). "Does Bihar know how many tribals live in the State?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  37. India, Press Trust of (10 December 2014). "27 lakh SC & ST families to benefit from Food Law in Bihar". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  38. "Bihar assembly elections 2015: Experiments in the caste lab of Bihar". Tehelka - Investigations, Latest News, Politics, Analysis, Blogs, Culture, Photos, Videos, Podcasts. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  39. "Special package for Tharu tribals in Bihar". The Hindu. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  40. "Stage set for tribal all-woman battalion". Archived from the original on 18 June 2015.
  41. "Nitish Kumar's gambit: temple fund, 2 EBCs added to SC/ST list". 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  42. "Bihar state EBC list" (PDF).
  43. "Election Commission in a spot: Bihar has 6.01 crore adults, but more than 6.21 crore voters". 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  44. "How Bihar was won". 27 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  45. "Now Lalu wants to do a Maya in Bihar". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  46. "The caste factor while casting votes in Indian elections". 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015.
  47. AM Jigeesh. "Caste determines Bihar's electoral arithmetic". Business Line. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014.
  48. "Nitish gives 'Maha Dalit' benefits to Paswan community". The Hindu. 4 April 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  49. "Why did Narendra Modi suddenly turn to caste?". 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  50. "Bihar poised to return to politics of caste, religion". 5 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  51. "Nitish in caste trouble". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  52. "Voice of unity for EBC voters". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  53. "Bihar elections still remain about slicing and dicing caste, EBCs are the wild card". 12 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015.
  54. "Frenemies: BJP's tie-up with Jitan Ram Manjhi could give it edge in Bihar polls". 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  55. Chatterji, Saubhadra (27 October 2010). "Bihar voters in dilemma". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  56. "BJP ties up with OBC leader Upendra Kushwaha in Bihar". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  57. "Jitan Ram Manjhi emerges critical player in poll-bound Bihar". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  58. "BJP may bring in Kushwaha as OBC face". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  59. "Can RJD-JD(U) stop BJP's rise in Bihar?". Live Mint. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  60. "Bihar's Mahadalits pick sides in Nitish-Manjhi tussle". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  61. "Bihar polls: Rallying behind Jitan Ram Manjhi, Musahars vow to unseat Nitish Kumar". The Economic Times. 9 October 2015.
  62. Singh, Vijaita (25 August 2015). "Bihar elections among factors in religious data of Census 2011 release". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  63. "Bihar polls: People made me cry a lot, says BJP's 'pucca Musalman'". The Indian Express. 25 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  64. "Will the Muslim militia polarise community on caste lines in Bihar's Imamganj?". Archived from the original on 20 December 2015.
  65. "Is Nitish Kumar working on a new Bihar poll strategy that excludes Laloo and Mulayam?". Archived from the original on 23 January 2016.
  66. Diwakar, R. R. Bihar Through The Ages by.
  67. "Bihar brings all Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes' families under National Food Security Act". DNA. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  68. "Nitish banks on caste calculations, Muslims". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.
  69. "Population by religion community - 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
  70. Haq, Farhat (November 1995). "Rise of the MQM in Pakistan: Politics of Ethnic Mobilization". Asian Survey. 35 (11): 995.
  71. "Musharraf wraps up Bangladesh visit". BBC News. 31 July 2002. Archived from the original on 4 May 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2019. The president said while he had every sympathy for the plight of thousands of people in Bangladesh known as 'stranded Pakistanis', he could not allow them to emigrate to Pakistan. The president said he would do everything possible to resolve the issue, but at the moment, Pakistan is still struggling to accommodate thousands of Afghan refugees.
  72. "Court rules that young Biharis are Bangladesh citizens" Archived 19 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Reuters. 19 May 2008.
  73. "Citizenship for Bihari refugees" Archived 25 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. 19 May 2008.
  74. "Bangladesh fails to register its Urdu-speaking citizens as voters". Thaindian News. Indo-Asian News Service. 15 August 2008.
  75. "Mauritians will be able to track Bihar roots more easily". Thaindian News. Indo-Asian News Service. 19 February 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  76. "The Indian Diaspora". Pink Pigeon Press. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  77. Ahmad Faizan, "Bihar violence: Raj the gainer", The times of India, Pune, 27 October 2008, pp. 6

Bibliography
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.