Kushwaha - Revision history

Editorial Oversight: Reverted edit by Madeshi nepali Kshatriya (talk) to last revision by WikiDwarf

2026-09-30T22:37:27Z

Reverted edit by Madeshi nepali Kshatriya (talk) to last revision by WikiDwarf

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:07, 1 October 2026
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	<ref>{{cite book \|last=Pinch \|first=William R. \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|publisher=University of California Press \|year=1996}}</ref>		<ref>{{cite book \|last=Pinch \|first=William R. \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|publisher=University of California Press \|year=1996}}</ref>

	Although their ancestors were traditionally vegetarian, this practice has gradually changed over time. The traditionally common surname in this community is ''Mahato''. Surnames used among the Kushwaha/Koiri community in Nepal include Mahato, Singh, Kushwaha, Mehta, Maurya, Morao, Bhagat, Sinha, and Verma,etc in Nepal.		Although their ancestors were traditionally vegetarian, this practice has gradually changed over time. The traditionally common surname in this community is ''Mahato''. Surnames used among the Kushwaha/Koiri community in Nepal include Mahato, Singh, Kushwaha, Mehta, Maurya, Morao, Bhagat, Sinha, and Verma,etc. among others in Nepal.

	Some Kushwaha organizations in Nepal have claimed that the population of the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal exceeds one million. If accepted, this figure would account for approximately 3.4% of Nepal's total population.		Some Kushwaha organizations in Nepal have claimed that the population of the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal exceeds one million. If accepted, this figure would account for approximately 3.4% of Nepal's total population.

Madeshi nepali Kshatriya: /* Koiri & kushwaha in Nepal */

2026-09-30T22:06:26Z

Koiri & kushwaha in Nepal

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:36, 1 October 2026
Line 59:		Line 59:
	<ref>{{cite book \|last=Pinch \|first=William R. \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|publisher=University of California Press \|year=1996}}</ref>		<ref>{{cite book \|last=Pinch \|first=William R. \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|publisher=University of California Press \|year=1996}}</ref>

	Although their ancestors were traditionally vegetarian, this practice has gradually changed over time. The traditionally common surname in this community is ''Mahato''. Surnames used among the Kushwaha/Koiri community in Nepal include Mahato, Singh, Kushwaha, Mehta, Maurya, Morao, Bhagat, Sinha, and Verma,etc~~. among others~~ in Nepal.		Although their ancestors were traditionally vegetarian, this practice has gradually changed over time. The traditionally common surname in this community is ''Mahato''. Surnames used among the Kushwaha/Koiri community in Nepal include Mahato, Singh, Kushwaha, Mehta, Maurya, Morao, Bhagat, Sinha, and Verma,etc in Nepal.

	Some Kushwaha organizations in Nepal have claimed that the population of the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal exceeds one million. If accepted, this figure would account for approximately 3.4% of Nepal's total population.		Some Kushwaha organizations in Nepal have claimed that the population of the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal exceeds one million. If accepted, this figure would account for approximately 3.4% of Nepal's total population.

WikiDwarf: clean up, typos fixed: nepal → Nepal, etc → etc. , ’s → 's (9)

2026-09-30T07:49:22Z

clean up, typos fixed: nepal → Nepal, etc → etc. , ’s → 's (9)

2400:1A00:1B6E:6D0B:5560:52B6:B5FB:8EDD at 20:20, 26 September 2026

2026-09-26T20:20:03Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:50, 27 September 2026
Line 246:		Line 246:
	From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>		From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>

	AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]], even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />		AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the sacred thread, even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />

	Some Kushwaha reformers also said, in a similar vein to Kurmi reformer Devi Prasad Sinha Chaudhari, that since [[Rajput]]s, [[Bhumihar]]s, and Brahmins worked the fields in some areas, there was no rational basis for assertions such labour marked a community as being of the Shudra varna.<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=110}}</ref> William Pinch described the growth of militancy among agricultural castes in the wake of their claims to Kshatriya status. Castes like Koeris, Kurmis, and Yadavs asserted their Kshatriya status verbally and by joining the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers in large numbers. The growing militancy among the castes led rural Bihar to become an arena of conflict in which numerous caste-based militias surfaced and atrocities against Dalits became normalised. The militias founded during this period were named after folk figures or popular personalities who were revered by the whole community.<ref>{{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>		Some Kushwaha reformers also said, in a similar vein to Kurmi reformer Devi Prasad Sinha Chaudhari, that since [[Rajput]]s, [[Bhumihar]]s, and Brahmins worked the fields in some areas, there was no rational basis for assertions such labour marked a community as being of the Shudra varna.<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=110}}</ref> William Pinch described the growth of militancy among agricultural castes in the wake of their claims to Kshatriya status. Castes like Koeris, Kurmis, and Yadavs asserted their Kshatriya status verbally and by joining the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers in large numbers. The growing militancy among the castes led rural Bihar to become an arena of conflict in which numerous caste-based militias surfaced and atrocities against Dalits became normalised. The militias founded during this period were named after folk figures or popular personalities who were revered by the whole community.<ref>{{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>

2400:1A00:1B6E:6D0B:5560:52B6:B5FB:8EDD at 20:19, 26 September 2026

2026-09-26T20:19:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:49, 27 September 2026
Line 244:		Line 244:

	===Identification as Kushwaha Kshatriya===		===Identification as Kushwaha Kshatriya===
	From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the [[All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha]] (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>		From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>

	AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]], even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />		AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]], even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />

2400:1A00:1B6E:6D0B:5560:52B6:B5FB:8EDD at 20:19, 26 September 2026

2026-09-26T20:19:06Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:49, 27 September 2026
Line 244:		Line 244:

	===Identification as Kushwaha Kshatriya===		===Identification as Kushwaha Kshatriya===
	From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the [[opium poppy]], began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the [[All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha]] (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>		From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the [[All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha]] (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>

	AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]], even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />		AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]], even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />

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Reverted 1 edit by 2400:1A00:1B6E:6D0B:5560:52B6:B5FB:8EDD (talk): Unexplained changes

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	'''Kushwaha''' (sometimes '''Kushvaha''')<ref name="Pinch1996p91">{{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=91}}</ref> is an elite caste-community of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] that has traditionally been involved in [[agriculture]], including ~~landowning~~ and [[horticulture]], found largely in the Indian states of [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite book\|last=Harper\|first=Malcolm\|title=Inclusive Value Chains: A Pathway Out of Poverty\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VODZCM5qblYC&pg=PA182\|year=2010\|publisher=World Scientific\|isbn=978-981-4293-89-1\|pages=182, 297}}</ref> Kushwahas are presently classified as [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC) by the [[National Commission for Backward Classes]].<ref>{{Cite web \|date=1 October 2010 \|title=NCBC Advice No.35/Delhi/2012 \|url=https://ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/635367176167888209_Advice%20No35.pdf \|access-date=8 November 2025 \|website=[[National Commission for Backward Classes]]}}</ref> The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the [[Kachhi (caste)\|Kachhis]],<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|access-date=3 October 2023 \|website=publishing.cdlib.org \|quote=Original Text from Peasants and Monks in British India "Kushvaha-kshatriya identity was espoused by agricultural communities well known throughout the Gangetic north for an expertise in small-scale vegetable and poppy cultivation. Prominent among them were Kachhi and Murao agriculturalists of central Uttar Pradesh, Kachhvahas of western Uttar Pradesh, and Koiris of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh." \|archive-date=4 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004085146/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|url-status=live }}</ref> [[Koeri]]s and [[Murao people\|Murao]]s. At present, it is a broad community formed by coming together of several caste groups with similar occupational backgrounds and socio-economic status, who, over time, started inter-marrying among themselves and created all India caste network for caste solidarity. The communities which merged into this caste cluster include Kachhi, Kushwaha, [[Mali caste\|Mali]], Marrar, [[Saini (surname)\|Saini]], Sonkar, Murai, [[Shakya (surname)\|Shakya]], [[Maurya (surname)\|Maurya]], Koeri and Panara.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Patel \|first=Mahendra Lal \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects \|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. \|year=1997 \|isbn=8175330295 \|page=37 \|quote=Original Text from Book: The reclassification by identification as other backward classes has placed them in various disadvantageous situations, as political reservations are not permitted to OBC persons. A number of families belonging to these caste groups, namely, Kachhi, Kachhwaha, Kushwaha, Mali, Marrar, Saini, Sonkar, Murai, Shakya, Mourya, Koyri, Koeri, and Panara have come closer to each other and have started intermarrying. They have now developed an all-India network to ensure caste solidarity without jeopardizing the caste interests. \|access-date=15 August 2020 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202201928/https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|archive-date=2 February 2023 \|url-status=live }}</ref>		'''Kushwaha''' (sometimes '''Kushvaha''')<ref name="Pinch1996p91">{{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=91}}</ref> is a [[Peasant\|non-elite peasant]] caste-community of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] that has traditionally been involved in [[agriculture]], including [[beekeeping]] and [[horticulture]], found largely in the Indian states of [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite book\|last=Harper\|first=Malcolm\|title=Inclusive Value Chains: A Pathway Out of Poverty\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VODZCM5qblYC&pg=PA182\|year=2010\|publisher=World Scientific\|isbn=978-981-4293-89-1\|pages=182, 297}}</ref> Kushwahas are presently classified as [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC) by the [[National Commission for Backward Classes]].<ref>{{Cite web \|date=1 October 2010 \|title=NCBC Advice No.35/Delhi/2012 \|url=https://ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/635367176167888209_Advice%20No35.pdf \|access-date=8 November 2025 \|website=[[National Commission for Backward Classes]]}}</ref> The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the [[Kachhi (caste)\|Kachhis]],<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|access-date=3 October 2023 \|website=publishing.cdlib.org \|quote=Original Text from Peasants and Monks in British India "Kushvaha-kshatriya identity was espoused by agricultural communities well known throughout the Gangetic north for an expertise in small-scale vegetable and poppy cultivation. Prominent among them were Kachhi and Murao agriculturalists of central Uttar Pradesh, Kachhvahas of western Uttar Pradesh, and Koiris of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh." \|archive-date=4 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004085146/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|url-status=live }}</ref> [[Koeri]]s and [[Murao people\|Murao]]s. At present, it is a broad community formed by coming together of several caste groups with similar occupational backgrounds and socio-economic status, who, over time, started inter-marrying among themselves and created all India caste network for caste solidarity. The communities which merged into this caste cluster include Kachhi, Kushwaha, [[Mali caste\|Mali]], Marrar, [[Saini (surname)\|Saini]], Sonkar, Murai, [[Shakya (surname)\|Shakya]], [[Maurya (surname)\|Maurya]], Koeri and Panara.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Patel \|first=Mahendra Lal \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects \|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. \|year=1997 \|isbn=8175330295 \|page=37 \|quote=Original Text from Book: The reclassification by identification as other backward classes has placed them in various disadvantageous situations, as political reservations are not permitted to OBC persons. A number of families belonging to these caste groups, namely, Kachhi, Kachhwaha, Kushwaha, Mali, Marrar, Saini, Sonkar, Murai, Shakya, Mourya, Koyri, Koeri, and Panara have come closer to each other and have started intermarrying. They have now developed an all-India network to ensure caste solidarity without jeopardizing the caste interests. \|access-date=15 August 2020 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202201928/https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|archive-date=2 February 2023 \|url-status=live }}</ref>

	== Origin ==		== Origin ==
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	* [[Kathmandu]] – 0.1%		* [[Kathmandu]] – 0.1%

	==Madhya Pradesh==		===Madhya Pradesh===
	The Kushwaha-Maurya community also have a sizeable presence in Indian state of [[Madhya Pradesh]]. They are found primarily in areas of the state bordering neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.<ref>{{cite news \|title=Delhi confidential: Seeking Seats \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|access-date=4 October 2023 \|work=The Indian Express \|date=19 October 2018 \|archive-date=6 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006053547/https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>		The Kushwaha-Maurya community also have a sizeable presence in Indian state of [[Madhya Pradesh]]. They are found primarily in areas of the state bordering neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.<ref>{{cite news \|title=Delhi confidential: Seeking Seats \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|access-date=4 October 2023 \|work=The Indian Express \|date=19 October 2018 \|archive-date=6 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006053547/https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>

2400:1A00:1B6E:6D0B:5560:52B6:B5FB:8EDD: /* Madhya Pradesh */

2026-09-26T20:17:17Z

Madhya Pradesh

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:47, 27 September 2026
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	* [[Kathmandu]] – 0.1%		* [[Kathmandu]] – 0.1%

	===Madhya Pradesh===		==Madhya Pradesh==
	The Kushwaha-Maurya community also have a sizeable presence in Indian state of [[Madhya Pradesh]]. They are found primarily in areas of the state bordering neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.<ref>{{cite news \|title=Delhi confidential: Seeking Seats \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|access-date=4 October 2023 \|work=The Indian Express \|date=19 October 2018 \|archive-date=6 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006053547/https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>		The Kushwaha-Maurya community also have a sizeable presence in Indian state of [[Madhya Pradesh]]. They are found primarily in areas of the state bordering neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.<ref>{{cite news \|title=Delhi confidential: Seeking Seats \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|access-date=4 October 2023 \|work=The Indian Express \|date=19 October 2018 \|archive-date=6 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006053547/https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>

2400:1A00:1B6E:6D0B:5560:52B6:B5FB:8EDD at 20:14, 26 September 2026

2026-09-26T20:14:58Z

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	'''Kushwaha''' (sometimes '''Kushvaha''')<ref name="Pinch1996p91">{{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=91}}</ref> is ~~a [[Peasant\|non-~~elite ~~peasant]]~~ caste-community of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] that has traditionally been involved in [[agriculture]], including ~~[[beekeeping]]~~ and [[horticulture]], found largely in the Indian states of [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite book\|last=Harper\|first=Malcolm\|title=Inclusive Value Chains: A Pathway Out of Poverty\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VODZCM5qblYC&pg=PA182\|year=2010\|publisher=World Scientific\|isbn=978-981-4293-89-1\|pages=182, 297}}</ref> Kushwahas are presently classified as [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC) by the [[National Commission for Backward Classes]].<ref>{{Cite web \|date=1 October 2010 \|title=NCBC Advice No.35/Delhi/2012 \|url=https://ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/635367176167888209_Advice%20No35.pdf \|access-date=8 November 2025 \|website=[[National Commission for Backward Classes]]}}</ref> The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the [[Kachhi (caste)\|Kachhis]],<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|access-date=3 October 2023 \|website=publishing.cdlib.org \|quote=Original Text from Peasants and Monks in British India "Kushvaha-kshatriya identity was espoused by agricultural communities well known throughout the Gangetic north for an expertise in small-scale vegetable and poppy cultivation. Prominent among them were Kachhi and Murao agriculturalists of central Uttar Pradesh, Kachhvahas of western Uttar Pradesh, and Koiris of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh." \|archive-date=4 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004085146/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|url-status=live }}</ref> [[Koeri]]s and [[Murao people\|Murao]]s. At present, it is a broad community formed by coming together of several caste groups with similar occupational backgrounds and socio-economic status, who, over time, started inter-marrying among themselves and created all India caste network for caste solidarity. The communities which merged into this caste cluster include Kachhi, Kushwaha, [[Mali caste\|Mali]], Marrar, [[Saini (surname)\|Saini]], Sonkar, Murai, [[Shakya (surname)\|Shakya]], [[Maurya (surname)\|Maurya]], Koeri and Panara.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Patel \|first=Mahendra Lal \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects \|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. \|year=1997 \|isbn=8175330295 \|page=37 \|quote=Original Text from Book: The reclassification by identification as other backward classes has placed them in various disadvantageous situations, as political reservations are not permitted to OBC persons. A number of families belonging to these caste groups, namely, Kachhi, Kachhwaha, Kushwaha, Mali, Marrar, Saini, Sonkar, Murai, Shakya, Mourya, Koyri, Koeri, and Panara have come closer to each other and have started intermarrying. They have now developed an all-India network to ensure caste solidarity without jeopardizing the caste interests. \|access-date=15 August 2020 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202201928/https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|archive-date=2 February 2023 \|url-status=live }}</ref>		'''Kushwaha''' (sometimes '''Kushvaha''')<ref name="Pinch1996p91">{{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=91}}</ref> is an elite caste-community of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] that has traditionally been involved in [[agriculture]], including landowning and [[horticulture]], found largely in the Indian states of [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite book\|last=Harper\|first=Malcolm\|title=Inclusive Value Chains: A Pathway Out of Poverty\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VODZCM5qblYC&pg=PA182\|year=2010\|publisher=World Scientific\|isbn=978-981-4293-89-1\|pages=182, 297}}</ref> Kushwahas are presently classified as [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC) by the [[National Commission for Backward Classes]].<ref>{{Cite web \|date=1 October 2010 \|title=NCBC Advice No.35/Delhi/2012 \|url=https://ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/635367176167888209_Advice%20No35.pdf \|access-date=8 November 2025 \|website=[[National Commission for Backward Classes]]}}</ref> The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the [[Kachhi (caste)\|Kachhis]],<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|access-date=3 October 2023 \|website=publishing.cdlib.org \|quote=Original Text from Peasants and Monks in British India "Kushvaha-kshatriya identity was espoused by agricultural communities well known throughout the Gangetic north for an expertise in small-scale vegetable and poppy cultivation. Prominent among them were Kachhi and Murao agriculturalists of central Uttar Pradesh, Kachhvahas of western Uttar Pradesh, and Koiris of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh." \|archive-date=4 October 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004085146/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft22900465&chunk.id=s1.3.14&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol;query=kachhvaha#1 \|url-status=live }}</ref> [[Koeri]]s and [[Murao people\|Murao]]s. At present, it is a broad community formed by coming together of several caste groups with similar occupational backgrounds and socio-economic status, who, over time, started inter-marrying among themselves and created all India caste network for caste solidarity. The communities which merged into this caste cluster include Kachhi, Kushwaha, [[Mali caste\|Mali]], Marrar, [[Saini (surname)\|Saini]], Sonkar, Murai, [[Shakya (surname)\|Shakya]], [[Maurya (surname)\|Maurya]], Koeri and Panara.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Patel \|first=Mahendra Lal \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects \|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. \|year=1997 \|isbn=8175330295 \|page=37 \|quote=Original Text from Book: The reclassification by identification as other backward classes has placed them in various disadvantageous situations, as political reservations are not permitted to OBC persons. A number of families belonging to these caste groups, namely, Kachhi, Kachhwaha, Kushwaha, Mali, Marrar, Saini, Sonkar, Murai, Shakya, Mourya, Koyri, Koeri, and Panara have come closer to each other and have started intermarrying. They have now developed an all-India network to ensure caste solidarity without jeopardizing the caste interests. \|access-date=15 August 2020 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202201928/https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC \|archive-date=2 February 2023 \|url-status=live }}</ref>

	== Origin ==		== Origin ==

2400:1A00:1B63:5BAB:C0AC:498A:DAA0:C1F9 at 04:59, 13 August 2026

2026-08-13T04:59:44Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 01:50, 27 September 2026
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	From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>		From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<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=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" /> This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Charsley \|first=S. \|s2cid=143948468 \|year=1998 \|title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory \|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|volume=32 \|issue=2 \|page=527 \|doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{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 \|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|title=History of anthropological thought \|first1=Vijay S. \|last1=Upadhyay \|first2=Gaya \|last2=Pandey \|publisher=Concept Publishing Company \|year=1993 \|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC \|page=436}}</ref>

	AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]], even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />		AIKKM's position was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the sacred thread, even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh \|first=Smita Tewari \|last=Jassal \|publisher=Technical Publications \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC \|pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book \|title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation \|first=Badri \|last=Narayan \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2009 \|isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC \|page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja [[Jayachandra]] in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? \|first=Dipankar \|last=Gupta \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2004 \|page=199 \|isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities, such as the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]], also constructed temples in support of these claims.<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />

	Some Kushwaha reformers also said, in a similar vein to Kurmi reformer Devi Prasad Sinha Chaudhari, that since [[Rajput]]s, [[Bhumihar]]s, and Brahmins worked the fields in some areas, there was no rational basis for assertions such labour marked a community as being of the Shudra varna.<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=110}}</ref> William Pinch described the growth of militancy among agricultural castes in the wake of their claims to Kshatriya status. Castes like Koeris, Kurmis, and Yadavs asserted their Kshatriya status verbally and by joining the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers in large numbers. The growing militancy among the castes led rural Bihar to become an arena of conflict in which numerous caste-based militias surfaced and atrocities against Dalits became normalised. The militias founded during this period were named after folk figures or popular personalities who were revered by the whole community.<ref>{{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>		Some Kushwaha reformers also said, in a similar vein to Kurmi reformer Devi Prasad Sinha Chaudhari, that since [[Rajput]]s, [[Bhumihar]]s, and Brahmins worked the fields in some areas, there was no rational basis for assertions such labour marked a community as being of the Shudra varna.<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=110}}</ref> William Pinch described the growth of militancy among agricultural castes in the wake of their claims to Kshatriya status. Castes like Koeris, Kurmis, and Yadavs asserted their Kshatriya status verbally and by joining the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers in large numbers. The growing militancy among the castes led rural Bihar to become an arena of conflict in which numerous caste-based militias surfaced and atrocities against Dalits became normalised. The militias founded during this period were named after folk figures or popular personalities who were revered by the whole community.<ref>{{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>

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:19, 30 September 2026
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	<ref>{{cite book \|last=Pinch \|first=William R. \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|publisher=University of California Press \|year=1996}}</ref>		<ref>{{cite book \|last=Pinch \|first=William R. \|title=Peasants and Monks in British India \|publisher=University of California Press \|year=1996}}</ref>

	Although their ancestors were traditionally vegetarian, this practice has gradually changed over time. The traditionally common surname in this community is ''Mahato''. Surnames used among the Kushwaha/Koiri community in Nepal include Mahato, Singh, Kushwaha, Mehta, Maurya, Morao, Bhagat, Sinha, and Verma,etc among others in ~~nepal~~.		Although their ancestors were traditionally vegetarian, this practice has gradually changed over time. The traditionally common surname in this community is ''Mahato''. Surnames used among the Kushwaha/Koiri community in Nepal include Mahato, Singh, Kushwaha, Mehta, Maurya, Morao, Bhagat, Sinha, and Verma,etc. among others in Nepal.

	Some Kushwaha organizations in Nepal have claimed that the population of the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal exceeds one million. If accepted, this figure would account for approximately 3.4% of ~~Nepal’s~~ total population.		Some Kushwaha organizations in Nepal have claimed that the population of the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal exceeds one million. If accepted, this figure would account for approximately 3.4% of Nepal's total population.
	<ref>{{cite web \|title=Kushwaha community claims over 10 lakh population in Nepal \|url=https://www.enewsbureau.com/news-details/9602/2021-01-20 \|website=eNews Bureau \|date=20 January 2021}}</ref>		<ref>{{cite web \|title=Kushwaha community claims over 10 lakh population in Nepal \|url=https://www.enewsbureau.com/news-details/9602/2021-01-20 \|website=eNews Bureau \|date=20 January 2021}}</ref>
	<ref>{{cite web \|title=National Population and Housing Census 2021 \|url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Final_Population_compostion_12_2.pdf \|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal}}</ref>		<ref>{{cite web \|title=National Population and Housing Census 2021 \|url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Final_Population_compostion_12_2.pdf \|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal}}</ref>
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	[[File:Literacy rate of nepali koiri.png\|thumb\|Caste-wise literacy rate of Nepali Koiris]]		[[File:Literacy rate of nepali koiri.png\|thumb\|Caste-wise literacy rate of Nepali Koiris]]

	Although the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal has traditionally been associated with agriculture, their relatively high literacy rate has contributed to their strong social and economic position. Particularly in the Terai region, the Kushwaha community has made notable progress in education, professional skills, and leadership. According to recent census data, more than 80% of Kushwahas are literate, which is above ~~Nepal’s~~ national average literacy rate of 77.4%.		Although the Kushwaha (Koiri) community in Nepal has traditionally been associated with agriculture, their relatively high literacy rate has contributed to their strong social and economic position. Particularly in the Terai region, the Kushwaha community has made notable progress in education, professional skills, and leadership. According to recent census data, more than 80% of Kushwahas are literate, which is above Nepal's national average literacy rate of 77.4%.

	The Koiri community is not limited only to agriculture, but also has a significant presence in government service, politics, business, and other professional sectors. Their comparatively high literacy rate and community unity have contributed to their representation in policy-making, administration, and local leadership. Kushwahas are regarded as one of the organized and influential Madheshi communities. Some descriptions portray them as economically and politically strong landowning groups in parts of the Terai region.		The Koiri community is not limited only to agriculture, but also has a significant presence in government service, politics, business, and other professional sectors. Their comparatively high literacy rate and community unity have contributed to their representation in policy-making, administration, and local leadership. Kushwahas are regarded as one of the organized and influential Madheshi communities. Some descriptions portray them as economically and politically strong landowning groups in parts of the Terai region.
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	[[File:Caste-wise Agricultural Landholding Data - Terai Region.jpg\|thumb\|Caste-wise Agricultural Landholding Data - Terai Region.]]		[[File:Caste-wise Agricultural Landholding Data - Terai Region.jpg\|thumb\|Caste-wise Agricultural Landholding Data - Terai Region.]]

	This table, prepared on the basis of data related to ~~Nepal’s~~ 2021 national census, presents the average agricultural land ownership and share of total agricultural land among different caste communities in the Terai region. According to the data, the Kushwaha (Koiri) community remains strongly associated with agriculture and is reported to possess an average of approximately 6.2 bighas of land, which is among the higher figures listed in the table. Likewise, Yadav, Bhumihar, and Tharu communities are also shown to have notable involvement in agriculture and significant agricultural land ownership.		This table, prepared on the basis of data related to Nepal's 2021 national census, presents the average agricultural land ownership and share of total agricultural land among different caste communities in the Terai region. According to the data, the Kushwaha (Koiri) community remains strongly associated with agriculture and is reported to possess an average of approximately 6.2 bighas of land, which is among the higher figures listed in the table. Likewise, Yadav, Bhumihar, and Tharu communities are also shown to have notable involvement in agriculture and significant agricultural land ownership.

	Agriculture is considered the backbone of ~~Nepal’s~~ economy, while the Terai region is regarded as the ~~country’s~~ primary grain-producing area. Such statistics help in understanding the economic and social structure of different agrarian communities in the Terai region. The Koiri community is often described as a strong agriculturist caste in Nepal.		Agriculture is considered the backbone of Nepal's economy, while the Terai region is regarded as the country's primary grain-producing area. Such statistics help in understanding the economic and social structure of different agrarian communities in the Terai region. The Koiri community is often described as a strong agriculturist caste in Nepal.

	=== Culture ===		=== Culture ===
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	=== Subgroups (clans) ===		=== Subgroups (clans) ===
	Historically, various subgroups (clans) have been identified within the Koiri/[[kushwaha]] community. Colonial-era caste studies mention the following subgroups within the Koiri community:		Historically, various subgroups (clans) have been identified within the Koiri/kushwaha community. Colonial-era caste studies mention the following subgroups within the Koiri community:
	<ref>{{cite book \|title=The Tribes and Castes of Bengal \|last=Risley \|first=H. H. \|year=1891 \|publisher=Government of Bengal}}</ref>		<ref>{{cite book \|title=The Tribes and Castes of Bengal \|last=Risley \|first=H. H. \|year=1891 \|publisher=Government of Bengal}}</ref>

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	=== Architecture ===		=== Architecture ===

	An example of architecture associated with the Koiri (Kushwaha) community can be seen in [[Janaki Mandir]] in Janakpur, which is sometimes regarded as an important example of “Koiri-style” architecture. Some local narratives also associate the ~~temple’s~~ construction with members of the Koiri community.		An example of architecture associated with the Koiri (Kushwaha) community can be seen in [[Janaki Mandir]] in Janakpur, which is sometimes regarded as an important example of “Koiri-style” architecture. Some local narratives also associate the temple's construction with members of the Koiri community.
	<ref>{{cite web \|title=Janaki Mandir \|url=https://visitsnepal.com/product/janaki-mandir/}}</ref>		<ref name="Janaki Mandir">{{cite web \|title=Janaki Mandir \|url=https://visitsnepal.com/product/janaki-mandir/}}</ref>

	[[File:Drone image of jankai temple ( jankapur nepal) in koiri style architecture.png\|thumb\|Drone image of Janaki Mandir, Janakpur, in Koiri-style architecture]]		[[File:Drone image of jankai temple ( jankapur nepal) in koiri style architecture.png\|thumb\|Drone image of Janaki Mandir, Janakpur, in Koiri-style architecture]]

	This style of architecture reflects a blend of Hindu, Mughal, and regional Mithila artistic influences. Janaki Mandir is a three-storey structure primarily constructed using stone and white marble.		This style of architecture reflects a blend of Hindu, Mughal, and regional Mithila artistic influences. Janaki Mandir is a three-storey structure primarily constructed using stone and white marble.
	<ref~~>{{cite web \|title~~=Janaki Mandir ~~\|url=https://visitsnepal.com/product/janaki-mandir/}}<~~/~~ref~~>		<ref name="Janaki Mandir"/>

	The temple structure includes domes, lattice-carved windows, coloured glass, pillars, and decorations inspired by Mithila paintings. The temple complex is said to contain around 60 rooms, contributing to its distinctive and attractive architectural character.		The temple structure includes domes, lattice-carved windows, coloured glass, pillars, and decorations inspired by Mithila paintings. The temple complex is said to contain around 60 rooms, contributing to its distinctive and attractive architectural character.
	<ref~~>{{cite web \|title~~=Janaki Mandir ~~\|url=https://visitsnepal.com/product/janaki-mandir/}}<~~/~~ref~~>		<ref name="Janaki Mandir"/>

	This architectural style is considered reflective of the cultural influence and religious traditions of the Madhesh and Mithila regions.		This architectural style is considered reflective of the cultural influence and religious traditions of the Madhesh and Mithila regions.
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	During the rule of the [[Shah dynasty]] (1768–2008), hill high-caste groups such as [[Bahun]] and [[Kshatriya\|Chhetri]] held significant dominance in the civil service, judiciary, and senior military positions.		During the rule of the [[Shah dynasty]] (1768–2008), hill high-caste groups such as [[Bahun]] and [[Kshatriya\|Chhetri]] held significant dominance in the civil service, judiciary, and senior military positions.

	According to some studies conducted in the Terai region using data from before 2015, certain Madheshi caste groups were represented in the civil service at rates higher than their share of the national population. For example, the representation of the [[Kushwaha]] ([[Koiri]]) community in ~~Nepal’s~~ civil service was reported to be approximately 3.2 times higher than their population share, placing them fourth in terms of representation. Similarly, the [[Rajput]] community was reported to have representation approximately 5.6 times higher than its population share, while [[Maithil Brahmin]] representation was around 4.2 times higher.		According to some studies conducted in the Terai region using data from before 2015, certain Madheshi caste groups were represented in the civil service at rates higher than their share of the national population. For example, the representation of the Kushwaha ([[Koiri]]) community in Nepal's civil service was reported to be approximately 3.2 times higher than their population share, placing them fourth in terms of representation. Similarly, the [[Rajput]] community was reported to have representation approximately 5.6 times higher than its population share, while [[Maithil Brahmin]] representation was around 4.2 times higher.
	<ref name="Hatlebakk07">{{cite web \|last=Hatlebakk \|first=Magnus \|year=2007 \|title=Economic and social structures that may explain the recent conflicts in the Terai of Nepal \|location=Kathmandu \|publisher=Norwegian Embassy \|url=http://www.norway.org.np/NR/rdonlyres/0993F5660B3548A98F819167B4FD596C/72944/http___wwwcmi.pdf \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724190445/http://www.norway.org.np/NR/rdonlyres/0993F5660B3548A98F819167B4FD596C/72944/http___wwwcmi.pdf \|archive-date=2011-07-24}}</ref>		<ref name="Hatlebakk07">{{cite web \|last=Hatlebakk \|first=Magnus \|year=2007 \|title=Economic and social structures that may explain the recent conflicts in the Terai of Nepal \|location=Kathmandu \|publisher=Norwegian Embassy \|url=http://www.norway.org.np/NR/rdonlyres/0993F5660B3548A98F819167B4FD596C/72944/http___wwwcmi.pdf \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724190445/http://www.norway.org.np/NR/rdonlyres/0993F5660B3548A98F819167B4FD596C/72944/http___wwwcmi.pdf \|archive-date=2011-07-24}}</ref>

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	=== Population ===		=== Population ===

	~~Nepal’s~~ Central Bureau of Statistics classifies the Kushwaha caste as a subgroup within the broader upper Madheshi caste communities. The community is primarily concentrated in the [[Terai]] region of Nepal, where agriculture has traditionally been the main occupation.		Nepal's Central Bureau of Statistics classifies the Kushwaha caste as a subgroup within the broader upper Madheshi caste communities. The community is primarily concentrated in the [[Terai]] region of Nepal, where agriculture has traditionally been the main occupation.

	According to the [[2021 Nepal census]] published by the [[National Statistics Office (Nepal)]], the population of the Kushwaha community in Nepal was 355,707, representing approximately 1.22% of the ~~country’s~~ total population.		According to the [[2021 Nepal census]] published by the [[National Statistics Office (Nepal)]], the population of the Kushwaha community in Nepal was 355,707, representing approximately 1.22% of the country's total population.
	<ref name="Census2021">{{cite report \|title=National Population and Housing Census 2021: Caste/Ethnicity Report \|publisher=National Statistics Office, Nepal \|location=Kathmandu \|year=2023 \|url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Caste%20Ethnicity_report_NPHC_2021.pdf}}</ref>		<ref name="Census2021">{{cite report \|title=National Population and Housing Census 2021: Caste/Ethnicity Report \|publisher=National Statistics Office, Nepal \|location=Kathmandu \|year=2023 \|url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Caste%20Ethnicity_report_NPHC_2021.pdf}}</ref>