Bihari Rajputs refers to the people of Rajput community of the eastern state Bihar and adjoining region of Uttar Pradesh. Babu Saheb (or Babu Sahib) is a term or sobriquet used mainly in the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand to describe members of the Rajput caste who traditionally formed part of the royalty and feudal elite respectively.
Contents
- History
- During the colonial period
- Dominance in feudal society
- Politics
- Present circumstances
- References
History
Legendary accounts state that from 1200 CE, many Rajput groups moved eastwards towards the Eastern Gangetic plains forming their own chieftaincies.These minor Rajput kingdoms were dotted all over the Gangetic plains in modern-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. During this process, petty clashes occurred with the local population and in some cases, alliances were formed.Among these Rajput chieftaincies were the Bhojpur zamindars and the taluksof Awadh.
The immigration of Rajput clan chiefs into these parts of the Gangetic plains also contributed the agricultural appropriation of previously forested areas, especially in South Bihar. Some have linked this eastwards expansion with the onset of Ghurid invasion in the West.
From as early as the 16th century, Rajput soldiers from the eastern regions of Bihar and Awadh, were recruited as mercenaries for Rajputs in the west, particularly in the Malwa region.
Kolff describes some of the Rajputs of Bihar, Awadh and Varanasi with the terminology “Pseudo Rajput“.These Pseudo Rajputs or the eastern Rajput often accompanied the Rajput of Rajasthan in their battles with the hordes of their supporters.They led the band of warriors called Purbiyas in order to assist their western counterparts but were notorious for frequently changing their allegiance as Silhadi did in the Battle against Babur, when he deserted Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa leading to defeat of Rajput contingents and consolidation of Mughal empire in India.
During the colonial period
The colonial period refers to period before 1947 when in the traditional agrarian society, the Rajputs of north Bihar controlled the agricultural production through the Zamindari rights. The upper caste which included Rajput controlled land and some of these upper-castes were also recruited to the lower rung of administration under the British rulers. The Brahmins who were significant landholders were dominant in some regions while those who were poor were recruited as the lathails and tax assesse for agricultural lands and also as Peons. The castes like Kayasthas work in various departments like those of accounts while the middle peasant castes which included Yadav, Koeri and Kurmifunctioned as occupancy tenants. Some of the peasants from these caste who became prosperous acquired caste consciousness and if ill-treated by the upper-castes were likely to resort to physical violence in retaliation. The moneylenders primarily belong to Sonar and other mercantile castes. The Rajputs were more active in property holding but were less-literate as compared to other upper-castes and hence were less active in public administration. Between 1900-1920, it was noted that Rajputs formed large chunk of the population of some of the region of south Bihar. In Shahabad region were they were most prominently present, it was recorded that they took little or no interest in intellectual pursuits. The literacy rate of the region and Bihar as a whole was also in precarious state.
Dominance in feudal society
Records of the time indicates that the upper-caste Rajputs practiced Dola Prathain some regions of Bihar and West Bengal, in which the newly wed bride of the Dalits and landless labourers (who worked for wages in their fields) had to spend one night with the landlord before commissioning of her nuptial rites. The ground level reports including the discourse with the women of agricultural labourers families also indicates the various patterns of abuse in which they were forced to perform Begar ( unpaid menial work ) and faced undignified teasing like “pinching on breast” by the Rajput landlords. When these women rejected the landlord’s proposal of sexual contact, it was common for the landlords to falsely implicate the male members of their families and their kins in criminal cases. In some of the villages in Bhojpur region of Bihar, the frequent rapes of Chamar and Dusadh women by their landlords in order to keep their men in submissive position was also prevalent. Besides sexual assaults, the drawing of water from the village wells and walking on the pathways alongside the landlords in Rajput villages were also forbidden for the lower castes.
By the 1960s, most of the prevalent feudal practices came to an end due to the activism of Kisan Sabhas, the organization led by middle peasant castes who also brought the issues of women rights and dignity within its fold and allowed the agricultural labourer women to voice for themselves.
The Rajputs also countered the upward mobility of some of the peasant castes, who by virtue of their economic prosperity sought higher status by wearing Janeu, a sacred thread or claimed Kshatriya status. The records indicates that during the tenure of Asaf-ud-Daula in Awadh, when a section of Awadhiya Kurmi were about to be bestowed with the title of Raja, the Rajput nobles of Asaf’s court caused stiff opposition to the move despite the fact that the Rajputs themselves were newcomers to the court and were peasant-soldiers a few year before. In the words of historian Richard Barnett:
Ironically, the Rajput constituency of Awadh itself composed a “group of newcomers to the court, who had been peasant soldiers only a few years before. They were called, half sarcastically, the ‘Tilangi Rajas’ ‘trooper rajas’—the people described by the shocked Muhammad Faiz Baksh as the new Nawab’s courtiers: ‘Naked rustics, whose fathers and brothers were with their own hands guiding the plow . . . , rode about as Asaf ud-daula’s orderlies.’”
According to William Pinch :
…the Rajputs of Awadh, who along with brahmans constituted the main beneficiaries of what historian Richard Barnett characterizes as “Asaf’s permissive program of social mobility,” were not willing to let that mobility reach beyond certain arbitrary sociocultural boundaries.
Politics
In pre 1990 period, the Rajputs along with Brahmin, Bhumihar and Kayasthadominated not only the social and political space of Bihar but also the judiciary and bureaucracy. It has been alleged that the upper-caste dominance for the long time hindered the implementation of “land reforms” in the state proactively which could have benefitted the Scheduled Castes and the backwards. 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. One of the causes of this transformation was weakening of Indian National Congress in the state, which was dominated by upper-caste for long. The rising Kulaks from the upper-OBC rode on the Lok Dal political party for their emancipation and jostled with the erstwhile political elites, the upper-castes. According to Sanjay Kumar, after a long and protracted struggle the upper-caste accepted the leadership of OBCs during this phase.
Present circumstances
According to a report of Institute of human development studies, Brahminstopped in average per capita income with Rs 28,093, the other upper castes of Bihar which comprises Rajputs have an average per capita income of Rs 20,655, closely followed by middle agrarian castes like Kushwahas and Kurmis earning Rs 18,811 and Rs 17,835 respectively 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). Hence; despite the political mobilisation of backward castes in post mandal period, the Rajputs are still among the high income groups in Bihar. 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.