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Koeri

2026-04-27T17:44:36Z

Citianbot: No major change

{{short description|Social community of India}}
{{for|the village in Estonia|Koeri, Estonia}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Koeri
|image =Koeri women celebrating Chhath.jpg
|caption =Koeri women celebrating [[Chhath]] in [[Bihar]]
|regions = {{flag|India}}, {{flag|Nepal}}
|region1 = [[Bihar]]
|pop1 = {{estimation}} 3–4% of the population<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theprint.in/politics/this-kheer-cooking-in-bihar-may-leave-a-bad-taste-in-the-bjps-mouth/|title=This 'kheer' cooking in Bihar may leave a bad taste in the BJP's mouth|first=Kumar|last=Ayushman|website=theprint.in|access-date=27 June 2020|quote=The Kushwahas or Koeris claim their origin from Lord Ram's son Kush, with his other son Luv said to have initiated the Kurmi caste, to which Nitish belongs... The Kushwahas are a largely farming community engaged in growing vegetables across Bihar... The group accounts for an estimated seven to eight per cent of the state's population.}}</ref>
|langs = {{hlist|[[Hindi]]|[[Bhojpuri]]|[[Nepali language|Nepali]]}}
|rels = [[File:Om.svg|12px]] [[Hinduism]]
|related =
}}

The '''Koeri''' (also known as '''Koiry''' or '''Koiri''') are an Indian landowning upper middle [[caste]], found largely in [[Bihar]], whose traditional occupation was agriculture, notably of rice and crops. A colonial report noted them as landowners.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |page=197 |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |location=London |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |access-date=29 August 2011}}</ref>

Koeris benefitted greatly from the land reform policies of the Indian government. Faced with the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, Muslim landlords resorted to selling off their lands, often to Koeris. This allowed the Koeris themselves to aspire to be landowners.{{fact|date=September 2021}}

The Koeris are found in [[Saran district]] and also live in the Samastipur district of Bihar. Outside India, the Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in [[Mauritius]] and have a significant population residing in [[Nepal]].

In 1977, the government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities which has benefitted the upper backward castes like the landowning Koeri.

==Sanskritisation==
Koeris have attempted [[Sanskritisation]]—the attempt by traditionally low castes to rise up the social ladder, often by tracing their origins to mythical characters or following the lifestyle of higher ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'', such as following [[vegetarianism]], secluding women, or wearing ''[[Upanayana|janeu]]'', the sacred thread.<ref name="Jayapalan2001">{{cite book|author=N. Jayapalan|title=Indian society and social institutions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AumuJ2jtRZIC&pg=PA428|access-date=17 January 2013|year=2001|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri|isbn=978-81-7156-925-0|page=428}}</ref> The Sanskritising trend in castes of northern India, including that of the Koeris, was inspired by the [[Vaishnavism|vaishnavite]] tradition, as attested by their bid to seek association with avatars of [[Vishnu]]. Author William Pinch wrote:
{{quote|"The nineteenth century antecedents of the Kushvaha- kshatriya movement reveal distinct cosmological associations with Shiva and his divine consort, Parvati. Kushvaha-kshatriya identity was espoused by agricultural community well known throughout the Gangetic north for an expertise in vegetable and (to an increasingly limited scale after the turn of twentieth century) poppy cultivation.
Prominent among them were ''Kachhi'' and ''Murao'' agriculturalist of central Uttar Pradesh ,''Kachhvahas'' of western Uttar Pradesh and ''Koiris'' of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh."<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC&q=peasants+and+monk+in+br&pg=PA92|page=91,92}}</ref>}}
[[Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha]], the caste association of Koeris, held its first session in 1922.<ref name="Ashwani2008_36">{{cite book |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA36 |year=2008 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8 |pages=36 }}</ref>

Some [[Kushwaha]] reformers like Gangaprasad of [[Banaras]] argued the Koeris descended from [[Kusha]] and that they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in their military capacity during the period of Muslim consolidation under [[Muhammad of Ghor|Shuhabuddin Ghuri]]. He argued further that after defeat, the fear of persecution at the hands of Muslims caused the Kusvaha Kshatriya to flee into the forest in disarray and discard their sacred threads, so as not to appear as erstwhile defenders of Hinduism. The British ethnographer [[Herbert Hope Risley]] recorded various Koeri origin myths in the 1890s. According to one of them, [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]] created Koeri and Kachhi to take care of vegetables and their flower gardens in Banaras. Writing eighty years later, [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]] records that Koeris of Bihar were followers of [[Dashanami Sampradaya]] while those of Gorakhpur and Ayodhya looked towards [[Ramanandi Sampradaya|Ramanandi]] saints for spiritual guidance.<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC|page=92}}</ref>

According to [[Christophe Jaffrelot]], the caste associations were formed with the basic objective of unifying individual castes. The All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha was formed to bring the horticulturist and market gardener communities like the Koeri, the Kachhi and the Murao under one umbrella. The Koeris also attempted to forge a caste coalition called Raghav Samaj, backed by [[kurmi]]s which was named after one of [[Rama]]'s names. This was done to justify the communities' claims of descent from [[Lava (Ramayana)|Lava]] and [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]], respectively. In 1928, the Mahasabha also petitioned the [[Simon Commission]] on behalf of various subcastes of the Koeri community to seek recognition as Kshatriya.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |pages=197–199 |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]] |location=London |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWms_1WzF1sC&q=india+silent+revolution+luv+kush&pg=PA197 |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231223916/http://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |archive-date=31 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The terminology Lav-Kush for the Koeri-Kurmi community became more important in politics than in culture; in Bihar, it came to represent the political solidarity of the Koeri and Kurmi castes.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTjbCgAAQBAJ&q=koeri+kurmi+luv+kush&pg=PA91|title=Why India Votes? :Exploring the Political in South Asia|first=Mukulika|last= Banerjee|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1317341666|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> {{as of|2020}}, the Koeri community claims ancestry both from [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]] and the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryans]]. Some of the leading political parties have supported their claims to reap the benefits arising from their demographic strength in electoral politics, particularly in North Indian states like [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.timesofindia.com/city/patna/BJP-banking-on-votes-of-Koeris/articleshow/47321629.cms|title=BJP banking on votes of Koeris|first=Abhay |last=Singh|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=18 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/caste-groups-are-burning-rajnath-singhs-effigies-as-he-called-chandragupta-maurya-shepherd/|title=Caste groups are burning Rajnath Singh's effigies as he called Chandragupta Maurya shepherd|first=Shivam|last=Vij|work=theprint.in|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

==Economy==
The community was at the heart of the Indian [[opium]] trade, which had its main base in Bihar. For many years the [[British East India Company]] via an agency in [[Patna]] regulated and exploited it. [[Carl Trocki]] believes that. "Opium cultivators were not free agents" and describes the coercion and financial arrangements that were involved to achieve production, which included restricting land to that product even when the people needed grain because of famine. Although profitable for the company, it was often not so for the peasant producer, and, "Only one particular caste, the Koeris, managed to carry on the cultivation with some degree of efficiency. They were able to do this because they could employ their wives and children to help out with the tasks of opium production."<ref name=Trocki1999pp64-67>{{cite book |title=Opium, empire and the global political economy: a study of the Asian opium trade, 1750–1950 |first=Carl A. |last=Trocki |author-link=Carl A. Trocki|publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-415-19918-6 |pages=64–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDNvkSC26bcC |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref>

Other groups involved in opium production had to hire labour, but the Koeris cut costs by utilising that available within their own family.<ref name=Trocki1999pp64-67/> Describing the industrious nature of the Koeri people, [[Susan Bayly]] wrote:
{{quote|"By the mid-nineteenth century, influential revenue specialists were reporting that they could tell the caste of a landed man by simply glancing at his crops. In the north, these observers claimed, a field of 'second-rate barley' would belong to a [[Rajput]] or [[Brahmin|Brahman]] who took pride in shunning the plough and secluding his womenfolk. Such a man was to be blamed for his own decline, fecklessly mortgaging and then selling off his lands to maintain his unproductive dependents. By the same logic, a flourishing field of wheat would belong to a non-twice-born tiller, wheat being a crop requiring skill and enterprise on the part of the cultivator. These, said such commentators as [[Denzil Ibbetson]] and [[E. A. H. Blunt]], were the qualities of the non-patrician 'peasant' – the thrifty [[Jat]] or canny Kurmi in upper India, .... Similar virtues would be found among the smaller market-gardening populations, these being the people known as Koeris in Hindustan"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC&q=specialists+were+reporting+that+they+could+tell+the+caste+of+a+landed+man&pg=PA212|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age|first=Susan|last= Bayly|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2001|isbn=0521798426|access-date=2020-06-30}}</ref>}}

===Post land reforms===
Peasants in [[Upper Backward Castes|upper backward castes]] like the Koeris benefitted the most from the land reform policies of the Indian government. Faced with the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, upper caste landlords resorted to selling off their lands. In most cases the buyer would be from the Koeri, the [[Kurmi]], or the [[Yadav]] castes. These peasants worked skillfully on their land and made their holdings more productive. In contrast, the upper castes were unable to do so, and they seemed to be satisfied with the price they got for their land. The increased urbanisation among forward castes created a category of new landlords in the countryside as these three middle castes seldom sold their land, rather they looked on reforms as an opportunity to buy more.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sinha | first=A. | title=Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar | page=80,81|publisher=[[Viking Press|Viking]] | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-670-08459-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT2xWp_iTCYC&pg=PA81 | access-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

This phenomenon promoted the upward mobility of middle peasant castes. While this mobility in the Yadavas consolidated them as both big peasants and landlords, in the Koeris, the vertical mobility was exclusively towards them becoming [[landlords]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Agrarian Reforms, Land Markets, and Rural Poor|first=D. Narasimha |last=Reddy|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|page=279|year= 2009|isbn=978-8180696046|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJgfNVjZ8koC&q=bihar+and+caste&pg=PA279|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> The rise of castes like the Koeri, the Kurmi, and the Yadav, and the fall from power of the forward castes was characterised by growing assertiveness among these middle peasants who now acted as the [[zamindars]] (rulers) they once condemned.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sinha | first=A. | title=Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar | page=82|publisher=Viking | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-670-08459-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT2xWp_iTCYC&pg=PA82| access-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

In 1989, Frankel observed that 95% of the upper castes and 36% of the middle peasant castes like the Koeri and the Yadav belonged to a rich peasant-cum-landlord class. An aversion to manual labour characterised this class. However, some Koeris and Yadavas who held comparatively less land to provide them with subsistence also worked as agricultural labourers, though the bulk of agricultural labourers belonged to the Dalit caste. According to Frankel, the bulk of middle and poor peasantry belonged to castes like the Koeris and the Yadavas; this class worked in their own fields but considered it beneath their dignity to work in others' fields.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution ...
|page=31 |first=George |last=Kunnath|publisher=[[Taylor and Francis Group]] |location=New York |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-138-09955-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkcrDwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+landlords&pg=PT31
|access-date=29 May 2020}}</ref>
However, the socio-economic progress and transition towards the upper edge of the social hierarchy was not unabated. The Koeris, like the other middle level castes in north India, were facing a double-edged confrontation from the upper castes who were supporters of the status quo as well as from the Dalits and the lowest castes who now became assertive for their own rights. All this made the middle castes aggressive.<ref>{{cite book|title =Beyond Ambedkar: Essays on Dalits in India|first=Nandu|last= Ram|publisher=Har Anand Publications|year=2009|isbn=978-8124114193
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BV0FuSXACbUC&q=koeri+caste+improved+economic+status&pg=PA32|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

The conflict with upper caste landlords led to an attraction towards far-left [[Naxalite|naxalism]]. This was witnessed in [[Ekwari]], a village, in the [[Bhojpur district, India|Bhojpur district]] where [[Jagdish Mahto]], a Koeri teacher, began leading the Maoists and organised the murders of upper caste landlords after he was beaten up by [[Bhumihar]]s for supporting the [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI) in the 1967 elections. Mahto also set up a newspaper in Arrah called ''Harijanistan''. After Mahto was killed in 1971, the communist uprising in Bhojpur subsided.<ref>{{cite book|title = Reinventing Revolution: New Social Movements and the Socialist Tradition in India|first=Gail|last= Omvedt|publisher=[[M.E.Sharpe]] |page=59|year=1993|isbn=0765631768|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wlxb0uacnRcC&q=Reinventing+Revolution:+New+So/jagdish+mahto&pg=PA59|access-date=16 June 2020}} "Its first mass leader was Jagdish Mahto, a Koeri teacher who had read Ambedkar before he discovered Marx and started a paper in the town of Hrrah called Harijanistan("dalit land")..</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=From popular movement to rebellion:The Naxalite dacade|page= 317,318|first=Ranbir|last=Samaddar|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location =New york|year=2019|isbn= 978-0-367-13466-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjZ7DwAAQBAJ&q=jagdish+prasad+mahto+naxal&pg=PT317|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

Later, a section of the upper strata of the Koeris and other middle peasant castes voiced their support for the militant organisation [[Ranvir Sena]]. This group had benefitted the most from land reforms and became ruthless towards the [[Dalits]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The situated politics of belonging |page=135,136 |first=Nira-Yuval-Davis |last=Kalpana |publisher=[[Sage Publications]] |location=london|year=2006|isbn=1-4129-2101-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6pIf0EjBXIC&q=koeri+in+army&pg=PA135|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

==Distribution==
Between 1872 and 1921 the Koeris represented approximately seven per cent of the population in [[Saran district]], according to tabulated data prepared by [[Anand Yang]]. Yang also notes their involvement in tenanted landholdings around the period 1893–1901: the Koeris worked around nine per cent of the total cultivated area of the district which was one per cent less than the Ahirs, although they represented around five per cent more of the population.<ref>{{cite book |title=The limited Raj: agrarian relations in colonial India, Saran District, 1793–1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-520-05711-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC |page=45 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> According to [[Christopher Bayly]] :
{{quote|"Eighteenth-century settlement of Kurmi ,Kacchi and Koeri cultivators were also numerous in northern and western Awadh. On the fringes of cultivation, these castes were given special rental rates for bringing areas of jungle under plough. In the first five years, for instance the rent might be only half of what was common for soil of the same type. The revenue benefits to the entrepreneur or official who planted the colony were very great."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA101|title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion|first=C. A.|last= Bayly|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1988|isbn=0521310547|access-date=1 July 2020|page=101}}</ref>}}
They are also distributed in the [[Samastipur]] district of Bihar. In this district the Koeri caste is notorious for their criminal affairs and represent most of the ten [[Bihar Legislative Assembly|legislative assembly]] seats in this district.<ref>{{cite book|title=Women Empowerment Through Panchayati Raj Institutions|first=Minni |last=Thakur|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year= 2010|isbn=978-8180696800
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hbA4A--9HcC&q=koeri+and+bhumihar&pg=PA31|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> In a study conducted in 1991, in villages of the [[Buxar]] district of southwestern Bihar, the Koeris were one of the largest landholding caste.s<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Social Dynamics in South Asia|first=Partha Nath Mukherji|last=N. Jayaram|publisher=[[Springer Publishing]]|year=2019|isbn=978-9811303876|page=88,89
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IHWKDwAAQBAJ&q=bihar+landholdings+koeri&pg=PA89|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> Further, another study conducted in some select villages of rural Bihar revealed the Koeris perform the function of a ''[[purohit]]'' (family priest) and a significant number of houses were seen availing themselves of the services of the purohits of the Koeri caste.<ref>{{cite book|title=Readings in Indian Sociology: Volume II|first=K. L.|last= Sharma|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|location= India|year=2013|isbn=978-8132118725
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOqICwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+caste+occupational+change&pg=PA136|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

===Distribution outside India===
Outside India, Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in [[Mauritius]]. Though the island is divided along ethnic and religious lines, 'Hindu' Mauritians follow a number of original customs and traditions, quite different from those seen on the Indian subcontinent. Some castes in Mauritius in particular are unrecognisable from a subcontinental Indian perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes into a single group. The title 'Rajput' describes primarily the [[Shudra]] castes in Mauritius, which was usurped by the Koeris in the nineteenth century. The 'vaish', which includes the Koeris, is the largest and most influential caste group on the island. The former Brahmin elites together with former [[Kshatriya]] are called 'Babuji' and enjoy the prestige conferred by high caste status, though politically they are marginalised.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F7NCwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+in+Mauritius&pg=PA14|title=Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora|first=Crispin|last=Bates|publisher=Springer|page=14|year= 2016|isbn=978-0333977293|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

The Koeris also have a significant population residing in [[Nepal]]. The 1991 census conducted there included estimates of their population estimates but these were not included in the 2001 census.<ref>{{cite book |title=Social Inclusion of Ethnic Communities in Contemporary Nepal |pages=109–110 |first=Monika |last=Mandal |publisher=KW Publishers |year=2013 |isbn=978-93-81904-58-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0y6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT109}}</ref>

==Subdivisions, classification and culture==

Communities related to the Koeri in North India include the [[Maurya]], the [[Kushwaha]], the [[Mahto]], the Kachhi, the [[Shakya]] and the [[Saini]]. Over time, these castes grew closer and began intermarrying while developing the all India network to strengthen their caste solidarity.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC&q=koeri+,Maurya,+Shakya,+kachhi&pg=PA36|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects|first=Mahendra Lal|last= Patel|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.|year= 1997|page=37|isbn=8175330295}}</ref>
In 1811, the physician [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]] classified the producer castes of Bihar and Patna - the Koeri, the Gwala, the Kurmi, the Sonar (goldsmith) and even the [[Kayastha]]s (a scribe caste) as "pure [[Shudra]]". However, due to the advancements in their level of education, the Kayastha community was first among them to challenge their Shudra status and claimed a higher Varna. They were followed by the rest of these communities.<ref name="William Pinch">{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.2.11&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch2|pages=73–75|quote=Buchanan, in the early nineteenth century, had included in the term "pure shudra" the well-known designations of Kayasth, Koiri, Kurmi, Kahar, Goala, Dhanuk (archers, cultivators, palanquin bearers), Halwai (sweets vendor), Mali (flower gardener), Barai (cultivator and vendor of betel-leaf), Sonar (goldsmith), Kandu (grain parcher), and Gareri (blanket weavers and shepherds)[108].108. Buchanan, Bihar and Patna, 1811–1812, 1:329–39; Martin, Eastern India, 2:466–70}}</ref>

Some Koeris like Shivcharan Bhagat were well known for their knowledge of [[Persian language|Persian]] and they also contributed to the [[Ramanandi Sampradaya]] and their disciples later became major contributors to Ramanandi literature.<ref name="William Pinch"/> In the households of the cultivator castes like the Koeris, there was no major segregation of family duties based on gender. Here, both male and female members of the family participated in cultivation- related operations, thus paving the way for egalitarianism and a lack of gender-related discrimination and seclusion. The view of the Koeris regarding their women is portrayed through their (Jati) Caste pamphlet, where Koeri women are described as being loyal to their husbands and having all the qualities of a true [[Kshatriya]] woman, who faces the enemy with courage and fights along with her husband rather than being defeated outrught.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oDeFAAAAIAAJ&q=koeri+women|
title=Daughters of the Earth: Women and Land in Uttar Pradesh|first=Smita Tewari|last=Jassal|publisher=Manohar|year=2001|isbn=8173043752|access-date=1 July 2020|page=71,53}}</ref>

===Martial tradition===
{{Quote box|width=20em|align=right|quote=''Kshatriyatva''( the essence of being Kshatriya, or valour) constituted an important component of this new political framework for reform, in part because martial element contained therein fit a colonial ideology that placed a premium on virility and power. Their claim to "''Kshatriyatva''" was matched by an aggressiveness and violence which had lasting implications for rulral life in Bihar.<ref name="George"/> |salign=right|source= – William Pinch}}
The Kshatriya reform movement in the middle peasant castes which took place during 1890s turned rural Bihar into an arena of conflict. William Pinch claims that castes like the Koeris, the Kurmi, joined the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers. George Kunnath writes that "their claims to ''kshatriyatva'' was matched by an aggressiveness and violence" which led to the formation of many caste armies resulting in intercaste conflict.<ref name="George">{{cite book |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution ...
|page=209,210 |first=George |last=kunnath|publisher=Taylor and Francis group |location=New york |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-138-09955-5|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JkcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA209|access-date=29 May 2020}}</ref>

==Organisation==
[[File:Kushwaha Ashram, headquarter of community organisation in Bihar.jpg|thumb|Kushwaha Ashram, the headquarter of community organisation of Koeri caste in North Bihar.]]
In the interwar years, during a period when there was a general movement among various castes seeking to uplift their status, there was also at least one journal being published for the Koeri community, the ''Kashbala Kshatriya Mitra'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Hindu nationalism and the language of politics in late colonial India |first=William |last=Gould |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-83061-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNsganXnq-oC |page=31 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> while other interests of the Koeri community is taken care of by the Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha.<ref name="Ashwani2008_36"/>

==Politics==
In the heyday of [[British Raj]], the Koeris aligned with the Kurmis and the Yadavs to form a caste coalition-cum-political party called [[Triveni Sangh]]. The actual date of the formation of Triveni Sangh is disputed among scholars. This caste coalition fared badly against the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] party and faced a considerable challenge from Congress's backward class federation. Though politically it was not able to make a significant mark, it remained successful in eradicating the practice of [[begar]] (forced labour).<ref name="Jaffrelot197">{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |pages=197–198}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=44 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA44 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref>

The period of the 1960s witnessed an improvement in the fortunes of the backward castes in politics, with a significant growth seen in the number of backward caste MLAs in the Bihar legislative assembly. In the 1970s, with the defining slogan of social justice, Koeris rose to prominence in the politics of Bihar under the leadership of [[Jagdeo Prasad]]. However, this achievement was short-lived and their representation was gradually lost to other backward castes after Prasad's death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kumar|first=Sanjay |title=Post mandal politics in Bihar:Changing electoral patterns|publisher=SAGE Publication|isbn=978-93-528-0585-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zhODwAAQBAJ&q=jagdeo+prasad&pg=PA39|date=5 June 2018}}</ref> This period also witnessed [[Satish Prasad Singh]], a lesser known Koeri leader, become the chief minister of Bihar merely a week after the fall of [[Mahamaya Prasad Sinha]] government. He led a coalition of the Shoshit Samaj Dal party of Jagdeo Prasad and the Congress.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rik-AAAAMAAJ&q=satish+prasad+singh+caste|title=Teaching Politics, Volume 6 - Volume 7, Issue 4|first=Delhi University|last= Political Science Association|publisher= Delhi University Political Science Association(Original from the University of Michigan)
|year= 1981|access-date=22 June 2020}} In 1969 , Bindeshwar Prasad Mandal , a rich landlord Yadav of Saharsa district in manipulating some M . L . A ' s to defect from U . F . Parties to cause the fall of Mahamaya Ministry , asked Satish Prasad Singh a lesser known Koeri leader to head the ministry for a day to facilitate his nomination in the Council.</ref><ref name="Sharma1989">{{cite book|author=Bijender Kumar Sharma|title=Political Instability in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHMBgjfitvQC&pg=PA49|access-date=10 April 2018|year=1989|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-184-7|pages=49–}}</ref>

In 1977, the [[Karpoori Thakur]] government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities. While the lower backward castes were assigned 12% of the quota, only eight percent was earmarked for landowning castes like the Koeri, the Kurmi and the Yadavs. Being a [[Nai (caste)|Nai]] by caste, Thakur was aware of the robust economic position and aggressiveness of these castes who were many times seen bullying the Harijans and lower backwards castes.<ref>{{cite book|title=City, Society, and Planning: Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odCJoIaDqZ0C&q=koeri+bihar+politics&pg=PA397|first=Baleshwar|last=Thakur|location =University of Akron. Department of Geography & Planning, Association of American Geographers|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2007|page=397 ,398|
isbn=978-8180694608|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

In later years, the Koeris remained in a muted position for a long period in politics or played a secondary role, while the Yadav-centric politics of [[Lalu Prasad Yadav|Laloo Yadav]] flourished in Bihar. However, after the formation of the [[Samta Party]] (now [[Janata Dal (United)]]) by [[Nitish Kumar]], they voted en masse for [[Samta Party|Samta]]. Its alliance showed that political parties in Bihar are identified with caste and the Samta Party was considered the party of Koeri-Kurmi community.<ref>{{cite book|title=City, Society, and Planning: Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odCJoIaDqZ0C&q=koeri+bihar+politics&pg=PA400|first=Baleshwar|last=Thakur|location =University of Akron. Department of Geography & Planning, Association of American Geographers|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2007|
isbn=978-8180694608|access-date=16 June 2020}} While Samta with its leader Nitish is considered to be the party of Koeri-Kurmi, Bihar people's party led by Anand Mohan is perceived to be a party having sympathy and support of Rajputs.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Democratic Politics in India|first=Ghanshyam|last=Shah|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2004|isbn=8178240955|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aou17T8KaEEC&q=caste+and+bihar+politics&pg=PA346|access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref>

The parting of the ways between the Koeris and the Kurmis and the movement of the Koeris away from [[Janata Dal (United)]] (JD(U)) was witnessed after the formation of the [[Rashtriya Lok Samta Party]] by [[Upendra Kushwaha]], who commanded huge support among members of the Koeri castes. The [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] appealed to the kushwaha in the 2014 elections in hopes of getting the support of the Koeri caste who had earlier voted for [[Nitish Kumar]] and the JD(U).<ref>{{cite book|title=India's 2014 Elections: A Modi-led BJP Sweep|first=Paul|last=Wallace|publisher=SAGE Publications|location = India|year=2015|isbn=978-9351505174|page=127,129
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFslDAAAQBAJ&q=upendra+kushwaha&pg=PT129|access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> However, the quitting of BJP and alliance by Upendra Kushwaha left Koeri politics in Bihar in a dilemma.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theprint.in/politics/upendra-kushwahas-exit-could-undo-bjps-carefully-planned-bihar-caste-coalition/|title=Upendra Kushwaha's exit could undo BJP's carefully planned Bihar caste coalition|first=PRAGYA|last=KAUSHIKA|website=theprint.in|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> This rift between the Koeris and the Kurmis was orchestrated by the rise of influential Koeri leaders like Mahendra Singh and Shakuni Chaudhry, while Kushwaha remained the strongest leader of the community in Bihar.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/the-liberation-struggle-of-bihar|title=The Liberation Struggle of Bihar|first=P. R.|last=Ramesh|date=15 October 2015|work=Open Magazine|access-date=30 April 2020}} The real migraine for the JD-U led alliance is the emergence of strong leaders within the NDA who command Kushwaha loyalties as effectively as Ashok Mahto once did for the fight against Bhumihars in the past. Rocking the Grand Alliance's prospects are Kushwaha leaders such as Upendra Kushwaha, Shakuni Chaudhury and Mahendra Singh.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bihari Mauritians]]
*[[Kachhi (caste)]]
*[[Kushwaha]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78rfCgAAQBAJ&q=koeri+rise+of+the+plebeians&pg=PA98|title=Rise of the Plebeians?: The Changing Face of the Indian Legislative Assemblies|first=Christophe Jaffrelot|last=Sanjay Kumar|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1136516610|access-date=30 June 2020}}

[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Agricultural castes]]

Koeri

2026-04-27T17:42:55Z

Citianbot: No major change

{{short description|Social community of India}}
{{for|the village in Estonia|Koeri, Estonia}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Koeri
|image =Koeri women celebrating Chhath.jpg
|caption =Koeri women celebrating [[Chhath]] in [[Bihar]]
|regions = {{flag|India}}, {{flag|Nepal}}
|region1 = [[Bihar]]
|pop1 = {{estimation}} 3–4% of the population<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theprint.in/politics/this-kheer-cooking-in-bihar-may-leave-a-bad-taste-in-the-bjps-mouth/|title=This 'kheer' cooking in Bihar may leave a bad taste in the BJP's mouth|first=Kumar|last=Ayushman|website=theprint.in|access-date=27 June 2020|quote=The Kushwahas or Koeris claim their origin from Lord Ram's son Kush, with his other son Luv said to have initiated the Kurmi caste, to which Nitish belongs... The Kushwahas are a largely farming community engaged in growing vegetables across Bihar... The group accounts for an estimated seven to eight per cent of the state's population.}}</ref>
|langs = {{hlist|[[Hindi]]|[[Bhojpuri]]|[[Nepali language|Nepali]]}}
|rels = [[File:Om.svg|12px]] [[Hinduism]]
|related =
}}

The '''Koeri''' (also known as '''Koiry''' or '''Koiri''') are an Indian landowning upper middle [[caste]], found largely in [[Bihar]], whose traditional occupation was agriculture, notably of rice and crops. A colonial report noted them as landowners.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |page=197 |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |location=London |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |access-date=29 August 2011}}</ref>

Koeris benefitted greatly from the land reform policies of the Indian government. Faced with the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, Muslim landlords resorted to selling off their lands, often to Koeris. This allowed the Koeris themselves to aspire to be landowners.{{fact|date=September 2021}}

The Koeris are found in [[Saran district]] and also live in the Samastipur district of Bihar. Outside India, the Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in [[Mauritius]] and have a significant population residing in [[Nepal]].

In 1977, the government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities which has benefitted the upper backward castes like the landowning Koeri.

==Sanskritisation==
Koeris have attempted [[Sanskritisation]]—the attempt by traditionally low castes to rise up the social ladder, often by tracing their origins to mythical characters or following the lifestyle of higher ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'', such as following [[vegetarianism]], secluding women, or wearing ''[[Upanayana|janeu]]'', the sacred thread.<ref name="Jayapalan2001">{{cite book|author=N. Jayapalan|title=Indian society and social institutions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AumuJ2jtRZIC&pg=PA428|access-date=17 January 2013|year=2001|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri|isbn=978-81-7156-925-0|page=428}}</ref> The Sanskritising trend in castes of northern India, including that of the Koeris, was inspired by the [[Vaishnavism|vaishnavite]] tradition, as attested by their bid to seek association with avatars of [[Vishnu]]. Author William Pinch wrote:
{{quote|"The nineteenth century antecedents of the Kushvaha- kshatriya movement reveal distinct cosmological associations with Shiva and his divine consort, Parvati. Kushvaha-kshatriya identity was espoused by agricultural community well known throughout the Gangetic north for an expertise in vegetable and (to an increasingly limited scale after the turn of twentieth century) poppy cultivation.
Prominent among them were ''Kachhi'' and ''Murao'' agriculturalist of central Uttar Pradesh ,''Kachhvahas'' of western Uttar Pradesh and ''Koiris'' of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh."<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC&q=peasants+and+monk+in+br&pg=PA92|page=91,92}}</ref>}}
[[Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha]], the caste association of Koeris, held its first session in 1922.<ref name="Ashwani2008_36">{{cite book |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA36 |year=2008 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8 |pages=36 }}</ref>

Some [[Kushwaha]] reformers like Gangaprasad of [[Banaras]] argued the Koeris descended from [[Kusha]] and that they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in their military capacity during the period of Muslim consolidation under [[Muhammad of Ghor|Shuhabuddin Ghuri]]. He argued further that after defeat, the fear of persecution at the hands of Muslims caused the Kusvaha Kshatriya to flee into the forest in disarray and discard their sacred threads, so as not to appear as erstwhile defenders of Hinduism. The British ethnographer [[Herbert Hope Risley]] recorded various Koeri origin myths in the 1890s. According to one of them, [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]] created Koeri and Kachhi to take care of vegetables and their flower gardens in Banaras. Writing eighty years later, [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]] records that Koeris of Bihar were followers of [[Dashanami Sampradaya]] while those of Gorakhpur and Ayodhya looked towards [[Ramanandi Sampradaya|Ramanandi]] saints for spiritual guidance.<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC|page=92}}</ref>

According to [[Christophe Jaffrelot]], the caste associations were formed with the basic objective of unifying individual castes. The All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha was formed to bring the horticulturist and market gardener communities like the Koeri, the Kachhi and the Murao under one umbrella. The Koeris also attempted to forge a caste coalition called Raghav Samaj, backed by [[kurmi]]s which was named after one of [[Rama]]'s names. This was done to justify the communities' claims of descent from [[Lava (Ramayana)|Lava]] and [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]], respectively. In 1928, the Mahasabha also petitioned the [[Simon Commission]] on behalf of various subcastes of the Koeri community to seek recognition as Kshatriya.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |pages=197–199 |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]] |location=London |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWms_1WzF1sC&q=india+silent+revolution+luv+kush&pg=PA197 |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231223916/http://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |archive-date=31 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The terminology Lav-Kush for the Koeri-Kurmi community became more important in politics than in culture; in Bihar, it came to represent the political solidarity of the Koeri and Kurmi castes.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTjbCgAAQBAJ&q=koeri+kurmi+luv+kush&pg=PA91|title=Why India Votes? :Exploring the Political in South Asia|first=Mukulika|last= Banerjee|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1317341666|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> {{as of|2020}}, the Koeri community claims ancestry both from [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]] and the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryans]]. Some of the leading political parties have supported their claims to reap the benefits arising from their demographic strength in electoral politics, particularly in North Indian states like [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.timesofindia.com/city/patna/BJP-banking-on-votes-of-Koeris/articleshow/47321629.cms|title=BJP banking on votes of Koeris|first=Abhay |last=Singh|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=18 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/caste-groups-are-burning-rajnath-singhs-effigies-as-he-called-chandragupta-maurya-shepherd/|title=Caste groups are burning Rajnath Singh's effigies as he called Chandragupta Maurya shepherd|first=Shivam|last=Vij|work=theprint.in|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

==Economy==
The community was at the heart of the Indian [[opium]] trade, which had its main base in Bihar. For many years the [[British East India Company]] via an agency in [[Patna]] regulated and exploited it. [[Carl Trocki]] believes that. "Opium cultivators were not free agents" and describes the coercion and financial arrangements that were involved to achieve production, which included restricting land to that product even when the people needed grain because of famine. Although profitable for the company, it was often not so for the peasant producer, and, "Only one particular caste, the Koeris, managed to carry on the cultivation with some degree of efficiency. They were able to do this because they could employ their wives and children to help out with the tasks of opium production."<ref name=Trocki1999pp64-67>{{cite book |title=Opium, empire and the global political economy: a study of the Asian opium trade, 1750–1950 |first=Carl A. |last=Trocki |author-link=Carl A. Trocki|publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-415-19918-6 |pages=64–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDNvkSC26bcC |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref>

Other groups involved in opium production had to hire labour, but the Koeris cut costs by utilising that available within their own family.<ref name=Trocki1999pp64-67/> Describing the industrious nature of the Koeri people, [[Susan Bayly]] wrote:
{{quote|"By the mid-nineteenth century, influential revenue specialists were reporting that they could tell the caste of a landed man by simply glancing at his crops. In the north, these observers claimed, a field of 'second-rate barley' would belong to a [[Rajput]] or [[Brahmin|Brahman]] who took pride in shunning the plough and secluding his womenfolk. Such a man was to be blamed for his own decline, fecklessly mortgaging and then selling off his lands to maintain his unproductive dependents. By the same logic, a flourishing field of wheat would belong to a non-twice-born tiller, wheat being a crop requiring skill and enterprise on the part of the cultivator. These, said such commentators as [[Denzil Ibbetson]] and [[E. A. H. Blunt]], were the qualities of the non-patrician 'peasant' – the thrifty [[Jat]] or canny Kurmi in upper India, .... Similar virtues would be found among the smaller market-gardening populations, these being the people known as Koeris in Hindustan"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC&q=specialists+were+reporting+that+they+could+tell+the+caste+of+a+landed+man&pg=PA212|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age|first=Susan|last= Bayly|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2001|isbn=0521798426|access-date=2020-06-30}}</ref>}}

===Post land reforms===
Peasants in [[Upper Backward Castes|upper backward castes]] like the Koeris benefitted the most from the land reform policies of the Indian government. Faced with the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, upper caste landlords resorted to selling off their lands. In most cases the buyer would be from the Koeri, the [[Kurmi]], or the [[Yadav]] castes. These peasants worked skillfully on their land and made their holdings more productive. In contrast, the upper castes were unable to do so, and they seemed to be satisfied with the price they got for their land. The increased urbanisation among forward castes created a category of new landlords in the countryside as these three middle castes seldom sold their land, rather they looked on reforms as an opportunity to buy more.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sinha | first=A. | title=Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar | page=80,81|publisher=[[Viking Press|Viking]] | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-670-08459-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT2xWp_iTCYC&pg=PA81 | access-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

This phenomenon promoted the upward mobility of middle peasant castes. While this mobility in the Yadavas consolidated them as both big peasants and landlords, in the Koeris, the vertical mobility was exclusively towards them becoming [[landlords]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Agrarian Reforms, Land Markets, and Rural Poor|first=D. Narasimha |last=Reddy|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|page=279|year= 2009|isbn=978-8180696046|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJgfNVjZ8koC&q=bihar+and+caste&pg=PA279|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> The rise of castes like the Koeri, the Kurmi, and the Yadav, and the fall from power of the forward castes was characterised by growing assertiveness among these middle peasants who now acted as the [[zamindars]] (rulers) they once condemned.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sinha | first=A. | title=Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar | page=82|publisher=Viking | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-670-08459-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT2xWp_iTCYC&pg=PA82| access-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

In 1989, Frankel observed that 95% of the upper castes and 36% of the middle peasant castes like the Koeri and the Yadav belonged to a rich peasant-cum-landlord class. An aversion to manual labour characterised this class. However, some Koeris and Yadavas who held comparatively less land to provide them with subsistence also worked as agricultural labourers, though the bulk of agricultural labourers belonged to the Dalit caste. According to Frankel, the bulk of middle and poor peasantry belonged to castes like the Koeris and the Yadavas; this class worked in their own fields but considered it beneath their dignity to work in others' fields.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution ...
|page=31 |first=George |last=Kunnath|publisher=[[Taylor and Francis Group]] |location=New York |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-138-09955-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkcrDwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+landlords&pg=PT31
|access-date=29 May 2020}}</ref>
However, the socio-economic progress and transition towards the upper edge of the social hierarchy was not unabated. The Koeris, like the other middle level castes in north India, were facing a double-edged confrontation from the upper castes who were supporters of the status quo as well as from the Dalits and the lowest castes who now became assertive for their own rights. All this made the middle castes aggressive.<ref>{{cite book|title =Beyond Ambedkar: Essays on Dalits in India|first=Nandu|last= Ram|publisher=Har Anand Publications|year=2009|isbn=978-8124114193
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BV0FuSXACbUC&q=koeri+caste+improved+economic+status&pg=PA32|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

The conflict with upper caste landlords led to an attraction towards far-left [[Naxalite|naxalism]]. This was witnessed in [[Ekwari]], a village, in the [[Bhojpur district, India|Bhojpur district]] where [[Jagdish Mahto]], a Koeri teacher, began leading the Maoists and organised the murders of upper caste landlords after he was beaten up by [[Bhumihar]]s for supporting the [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI) in the 1967 elections. Mahto also set up a newspaper in Arrah called ''Harijanistan''. After Mahto was killed in 1971, the communist uprising in Bhojpur subsided.<ref>{{cite book|title = Reinventing Revolution: New Social Movements and the Socialist Tradition in India|first=Gail|last= Omvedt|publisher=[[M.E.Sharpe]] |page=59|year=1993|isbn=0765631768|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wlxb0uacnRcC&q=Reinventing+Revolution:+New+So/jagdish+mahto&pg=PA59|access-date=16 June 2020}} "Its first mass leader was Jagdish Mahto, a Koeri teacher who had read Ambedkar before he discovered Marx and started a paper in the town of Hrrah called Harijanistan("dalit land")..</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=From popular movement to rebellion:The Naxalite dacade|page= 317,318|first=Ranbir|last=Samaddar|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location =New york|year=2019|isbn= 978-0-367-13466-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjZ7DwAAQBAJ&q=jagdish+prasad+mahto+naxal&pg=PT317|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

Later, a section of the upper strata of the Koeris and other middle peasant castes voiced their support for the militant organisation [[Ranvir Sena]]. This group had benefitted the most from land reforms and became ruthless towards the [[Dalits]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The situated politics of belonging |page=135,136 |first=Nira-Yuval-Davis |last=Kalpana |publisher=[[Sage Publications]] |location=london|year=2006|isbn=1-4129-2101-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6pIf0EjBXIC&q=koeri+in+army&pg=PA135|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

==Distribution==
[[File:Twee Koeri mannen op een pad in Gorakhpur met gereedschap voor de landbouw Koerees. Low caste tribe, possibly aboriginal. Goruckpoor (titel op object), RP-F-2001-7-1122B-44.jpg|thumb|Two men from Koeree (Koeri) tribe in Goruckpoor ([[Gorakhpur]]) (1858)]]
Between 1872 and 1921 the Koeris represented approximately seven per cent of the population in [[Saran district]], according to tabulated data prepared by [[Anand Yang]]. Yang also notes their involvement in tenanted landholdings around the period 1893–1901: the Koeris worked around nine per cent of the total cultivated area of the district which was one per cent less than the Ahirs, although they represented around five per cent more of the population.<ref>{{cite book |title=The limited Raj: agrarian relations in colonial India, Saran District, 1793–1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-520-05711-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC |page=45 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> According to [[Christopher Bayly]] :
{{quote|"Eighteenth-century settlement of Kurmi ,Kacchi and Koeri cultivators were also numerous in northern and western Awadh. On the fringes of cultivation, these castes were given special rental rates for bringing areas of jungle under plough. In the first five years, for instance the rent might be only half of what was common for soil of the same type. The revenue benefits to the entrepreneur or official who planted the colony were very great."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA101|title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion|first=C. A.|last= Bayly|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1988|isbn=0521310547|access-date=1 July 2020|page=101}}</ref>}}
They are also distributed in the [[Samastipur]] district of Bihar. In this district the Koeri caste is notorious for their criminal affairs and represent most of the ten [[Bihar Legislative Assembly|legislative assembly]] seats in this district.<ref>{{cite book|title=Women Empowerment Through Panchayati Raj Institutions|first=Minni |last=Thakur|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year= 2010|isbn=978-8180696800
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hbA4A--9HcC&q=koeri+and+bhumihar&pg=PA31|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> In a study conducted in 1991, in villages of the [[Buxar]] district of southwestern Bihar, the Koeris were one of the largest landholding caste.s<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Social Dynamics in South Asia|first=Partha Nath Mukherji|last=N. Jayaram|publisher=[[Springer Publishing]]|year=2019|isbn=978-9811303876|page=88,89
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IHWKDwAAQBAJ&q=bihar+landholdings+koeri&pg=PA89|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> Further, another study conducted in some select villages of rural Bihar revealed the Koeris perform the function of a ''[[purohit]]'' (family priest) and a significant number of houses were seen availing themselves of the services of the purohits of the Koeri caste.<ref>{{cite book|title=Readings in Indian Sociology: Volume II|first=K. L.|last= Sharma|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|location= India|year=2013|isbn=978-8132118725
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOqICwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+caste+occupational+change&pg=PA136|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

===Distribution outside India===
Outside India, Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in [[Mauritius]]. Though the island is divided along ethnic and religious lines, 'Hindu' Mauritians follow a number of original customs and traditions, quite different from those seen on the Indian subcontinent. Some castes in Mauritius in particular are unrecognisable from a subcontinental Indian perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes into a single group. The title 'Rajput' describes primarily the [[Shudra]] castes in Mauritius, which was usurped by the Koeris in the nineteenth century. The 'vaish', which includes the Koeris, is the largest and most influential caste group on the island. The former Brahmin elites together with former [[Kshatriya]] are called 'Babuji' and enjoy the prestige conferred by high caste status, though politically they are marginalised.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F7NCwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+in+Mauritius&pg=PA14|title=Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora|first=Crispin|last=Bates|publisher=Springer|page=14|year= 2016|isbn=978-0333977293|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

The Koeris also have a significant population residing in [[Nepal]]. The 1991 census conducted there included estimates of their population estimates but these were not included in the 2001 census.<ref>{{cite book |title=Social Inclusion of Ethnic Communities in Contemporary Nepal |pages=109–110 |first=Monika |last=Mandal |publisher=KW Publishers |year=2013 |isbn=978-93-81904-58-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0y6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT109}}</ref>

==Subdivisions, classification and culture==

Communities related to the Koeri in North India include the [[Maurya]], the [[Kushwaha]], the [[Mahto]], the Kachhi, the [[Shakya]] and the [[Saini]]. Over time, these castes grew closer and began intermarrying while developing the all India network to strengthen their caste solidarity.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC&q=koeri+,Maurya,+Shakya,+kachhi&pg=PA36|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects|first=Mahendra Lal|last= Patel|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.|year= 1997|page=37|isbn=8175330295}}</ref>
In 1811, the physician [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]] classified the producer castes of Bihar and Patna - the Koeri, the Gwala, the Kurmi, the Sonar (goldsmith) and even the [[Kayastha]]s (a scribe caste) as "pure [[Shudra]]". However, due to the advancements in their level of education, the Kayastha community was first among them to challenge their Shudra status and claimed a higher Varna. They were followed by the rest of these communities.<ref name="William Pinch">{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.2.11&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch2|pages=73–75|quote=Buchanan, in the early nineteenth century, had included in the term "pure shudra" the well-known designations of Kayasth, Koiri, Kurmi, Kahar, Goala, Dhanuk (archers, cultivators, palanquin bearers), Halwai (sweets vendor), Mali (flower gardener), Barai (cultivator and vendor of betel-leaf), Sonar (goldsmith), Kandu (grain parcher), and Gareri (blanket weavers and shepherds)[108].108. Buchanan, Bihar and Patna, 1811–1812, 1:329–39; Martin, Eastern India, 2:466–70}}</ref>

Some Koeris like Shivcharan Bhagat were well known for their knowledge of [[Persian language|Persian]] and they also contributed to the [[Ramanandi Sampradaya]] and their disciples later became major contributors to Ramanandi literature.<ref name="William Pinch"/> In the households of the cultivator castes like the Koeris, there was no major segregation of family duties based on gender. Here, both male and female members of the family participated in cultivation- related operations, thus paving the way for egalitarianism and a lack of gender-related discrimination and seclusion. The view of the Koeris regarding their women is portrayed through their (Jati) Caste pamphlet, where Koeri women are described as being loyal to their husbands and having all the qualities of a true [[Kshatriya]] woman, who faces the enemy with courage and fights along with her husband rather than being defeated outrught.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oDeFAAAAIAAJ&q=koeri+women|
title=Daughters of the Earth: Women and Land in Uttar Pradesh|first=Smita Tewari|last=Jassal|publisher=Manohar|year=2001|isbn=8173043752|access-date=1 July 2020|page=71,53}}</ref>

===Martial tradition===
{{Quote box|width=20em|align=right|quote=''Kshatriyatva''( the essence of being Kshatriya, or valour) constituted an important component of this new political framework for reform, in part because martial element contained therein fit a colonial ideology that placed a premium on virility and power. Their claim to "''Kshatriyatva''" was matched by an aggressiveness and violence which had lasting implications for rulral life in Bihar.<ref name="George"/> |salign=right|source= – William Pinch}}
The Kshatriya reform movement in the middle peasant castes which took place during 1890s turned rural Bihar into an arena of conflict. William Pinch claims that castes like the Koeris, the Kurmi, joined the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers. George Kunnath writes that "their claims to ''kshatriyatva'' was matched by an aggressiveness and violence" which led to the formation of many caste armies resulting in intercaste conflict.<ref name="George">{{cite book |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution ...
|page=209,210 |first=George |last=kunnath|publisher=Taylor and Francis group |location=New york |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-138-09955-5|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JkcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA209|access-date=29 May 2020}}</ref>

==Organisation==
[[File:Kushwaha Ashram, headquarter of community organisation in Bihar.jpg|thumb|Kushwaha Ashram, the headquarter of community organisation of Koeri caste in North Bihar.]]
In the interwar years, during a period when there was a general movement among various castes seeking to uplift their status, there was also at least one journal being published for the Koeri community, the ''Kashbala Kshatriya Mitra'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Hindu nationalism and the language of politics in late colonial India |first=William |last=Gould |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-83061-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNsganXnq-oC |page=31 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> while other interests of the Koeri community is taken care of by the Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha.<ref name="Ashwani2008_36"/>

==Politics==
In the heyday of [[British Raj]], the Koeris aligned with the Kurmis and the Yadavs to form a caste coalition-cum-political party called [[Triveni Sangh]]. The actual date of the formation of Triveni Sangh is disputed among scholars. This caste coalition fared badly against the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] party and faced a considerable challenge from Congress's backward class federation. Though politically it was not able to make a significant mark, it remained successful in eradicating the practice of [[begar]] (forced labour).<ref name="Jaffrelot197">{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |pages=197–198}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=44 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA44 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref>

The period of the 1960s witnessed an improvement in the fortunes of the backward castes in politics, with a significant growth seen in the number of backward caste MLAs in the Bihar legislative assembly. In the 1970s, with the defining slogan of social justice, Koeris rose to prominence in the politics of Bihar under the leadership of [[Jagdeo Prasad]]. However, this achievement was short-lived and their representation was gradually lost to other backward castes after Prasad's death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kumar|first=Sanjay |title=Post mandal politics in Bihar:Changing electoral patterns|publisher=SAGE Publication|isbn=978-93-528-0585-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zhODwAAQBAJ&q=jagdeo+prasad&pg=PA39|date=5 June 2018}}</ref> This period also witnessed [[Satish Prasad Singh]], a lesser known Koeri leader, become the chief minister of Bihar merely a week after the fall of [[Mahamaya Prasad Sinha]] government. He led a coalition of the Shoshit Samaj Dal party of Jagdeo Prasad and the Congress.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rik-AAAAMAAJ&q=satish+prasad+singh+caste|title=Teaching Politics, Volume 6 - Volume 7, Issue 4|first=Delhi University|last= Political Science Association|publisher= Delhi University Political Science Association(Original from the University of Michigan)
|year= 1981|access-date=22 June 2020}} In 1969 , Bindeshwar Prasad Mandal , a rich landlord Yadav of Saharsa district in manipulating some M . L . A ' s to defect from U . F . Parties to cause the fall of Mahamaya Ministry , asked Satish Prasad Singh a lesser known Koeri leader to head the ministry for a day to facilitate his nomination in the Council.</ref><ref name="Sharma1989">{{cite book|author=Bijender Kumar Sharma|title=Political Instability in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHMBgjfitvQC&pg=PA49|access-date=10 April 2018|year=1989|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-184-7|pages=49–}}</ref>

In 1977, the [[Karpoori Thakur]] government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities. While the lower backward castes were assigned 12% of the quota, only eight percent was earmarked for landowning castes like the Koeri, the Kurmi and the Yadavs. Being a [[Nai (caste)|Nai]] by caste, Thakur was aware of the robust economic position and aggressiveness of these castes who were many times seen bullying the Harijans and lower backwards castes.<ref>{{cite book|title=City, Society, and Planning: Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odCJoIaDqZ0C&q=koeri+bihar+politics&pg=PA397|first=Baleshwar|last=Thakur|location =University of Akron. Department of Geography & Planning, Association of American Geographers|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2007|page=397 ,398|
isbn=978-8180694608|access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

In later years, the Koeris remained in a muted position for a long period in politics or played a secondary role, while the Yadav-centric politics of [[Lalu Prasad Yadav|Laloo Yadav]] flourished in Bihar. However, after the formation of the [[Samta Party]] (now [[Janata Dal (United)]]) by [[Nitish Kumar]], they voted en masse for [[Samta Party|Samta]]. Its alliance showed that political parties in Bihar are identified with caste and the Samta Party was considered the party of Koeri-Kurmi community.<ref>{{cite book|title=City, Society, and Planning: Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odCJoIaDqZ0C&q=koeri+bihar+politics&pg=PA400|first=Baleshwar|last=Thakur|location =University of Akron. Department of Geography & Planning, Association of American Geographers|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2007|
isbn=978-8180694608|access-date=16 June 2020}} While Samta with its leader Nitish is considered to be the party of Koeri-Kurmi, Bihar people's party led by Anand Mohan is perceived to be a party having sympathy and support of Rajputs.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Democratic Politics in India|first=Ghanshyam|last=Shah|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2004|isbn=8178240955|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aou17T8KaEEC&q=caste+and+bihar+politics&pg=PA346|access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref>

The parting of the ways between the Koeris and the Kurmis and the movement of the Koeris away from [[Janata Dal (United)]] (JD(U)) was witnessed after the formation of the [[Rashtriya Lok Samta Party]] by [[Upendra Kushwaha]], who commanded huge support among members of the Koeri castes. The [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] appealed to the kushwaha in the 2014 elections in hopes of getting the support of the Koeri caste who had earlier voted for [[Nitish Kumar]] and the JD(U).<ref>{{cite book|title=India's 2014 Elections: A Modi-led BJP Sweep|first=Paul|last=Wallace|publisher=SAGE Publications|location = India|year=2015|isbn=978-9351505174|page=127,129
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFslDAAAQBAJ&q=upendra+kushwaha&pg=PT129|access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> However, the quitting of BJP and alliance by Upendra Kushwaha left Koeri politics in Bihar in a dilemma.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theprint.in/politics/upendra-kushwahas-exit-could-undo-bjps-carefully-planned-bihar-caste-coalition/|title=Upendra Kushwaha's exit could undo BJP's carefully planned Bihar caste coalition|first=PRAGYA|last=KAUSHIKA|website=theprint.in|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> This rift between the Koeris and the Kurmis was orchestrated by the rise of influential Koeri leaders like Mahendra Singh and Shakuni Chaudhry, while Kushwaha remained the strongest leader of the community in Bihar.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/the-liberation-struggle-of-bihar|title=The Liberation Struggle of Bihar|first=P. R.|last=Ramesh|date=15 October 2015|work=Open Magazine|access-date=30 April 2020}} The real migraine for the JD-U led alliance is the emergence of strong leaders within the NDA who command Kushwaha loyalties as effectively as Ashok Mahto once did for the fight against Bhumihars in the past. Rocking the Grand Alliance's prospects are Kushwaha leaders such as Upendra Kushwaha, Shakuni Chaudhury and Mahendra Singh.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bihari Mauritians]]
*[[Kachhi (caste)]]
*[[Kushwaha]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78rfCgAAQBAJ&q=koeri+rise+of+the+plebeians&pg=PA98|title=Rise of the Plebeians?: The Changing Face of the Indian Legislative Assemblies|first=Christophe Jaffrelot|last=Sanjay Kumar|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1136516610|access-date=30 June 2020}}

[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Agricultural castes]]