Musahar - Revision history

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	'''Musahar''' or '''Mushahar'''<ref name="bpedia">{{cite book\|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh\|first=Subhash\|last=Jengcham\|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mushahar\|chapter=Mushahar\|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> are a [[Dalit]] community found in the eastern [[Indo-Gangetic Plain\|Gangetic plain]] and the [[Terai]]. They are also known as '''''Banbasi'''''.<ref name="xlii3">{{cite book\|title=People of India Uttar Pradesh\|volume=XLII Part Three\|editor=A Hasan & J C Das\|pages=1006–1012\|publisher=Manohar Publications}}</ref>The other names of the Musahar are Bhuiyan and Rajawar<ref name="Sachchidananda1988">{{cite book\|author=Sachchidananda\|title=Tradition And Development\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZ1EOSQHhlYC&pg=PA124\|accessdate=28 September 2012\|date=1 January 1988\|publisher=Concept Publishing Company\|isbn=978-81-7022-072-5\|pages=124–}}</ref> Their name literally means 'rat-eater' due to their main former occupation of catching rats, and there are many who are still forced to do this work due to destitution and poverty.		'''Musahar''' or '''Mushahar'''<ref name="bpedia">{{cite book\|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh\|first=Subhash\|last=Jengcham\|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mushahar\|chapter=Mushahar\|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> are a [[Dalit]] community found in the eastern [[Indo-Gangetic Plain\|Gangetic plain]] and the [[Terai]]. They are also known as '''''Banbasi'''''.<ref name="xlii3">{{cite book\|title=People of India Uttar Pradesh\|volume=XLII Part Three\|editor=A Hasan & J C Das\|pages=1006–1012\|publisher=Manohar Publications}}</ref> The other names of the Musahar are Bhuiyan and Rajawar<ref name="Sachchidananda1988">{{cite book\|author=Sachchidananda\|title=Tradition And Development\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZ1EOSQHhlYC&pg=PA124\|accessdate=28 September 2012\|date=1 January 1988\|publisher=Concept Publishing Company\|isbn=978-81-7022-072-5\|pages=124–}}</ref> Their name literally means 'rat-eater' due to their main former occupation of catching rats, and there are many who are still forced to do this work due to destitution and poverty.

	== Origins and history ==		== Origins and history ==
	[[File:The People of India Vol 1 Fig 6.jpg\|thumb\|Photo of a Musahar taken as part of a caste survey by [[Herbert Hope Risley]] in Bihar, 1890s]]		[[File:The People of India Vol 1 Fig 6.jpg\|thumb\|Photo of a Musahar taken as part of a caste survey by [[Herbert Hope Risley]] in Bihar, 1890s]]
	In Bihar, the word Musahar is said to be derived from the [[Bhojpuri language\|Bhojpuri]] ''mūs+ahar'' (literally ''rat eater''), on account of their traditional occupation as rat catchers.<ref name="UpadhyayPandey1993">{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC&pg=PA436\|title=History Of Anthropological Thought\|author1=Vijay S. Upadhyay\|author2=Gaya Pandey\|date=1 January 1993\|publisher=Concept Publishing Company\|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1\|pages=436–\|accessdate=28 September 2012}}</ref> According to a local legend, [[Brahma\|Lord Brahma]] created man and gave him the horse to ride. The first Musahar decided to dig holes in the belly of the horse to fix his feet as he rode. This offended Lord Brahma, who cursed him and his descendants to be rat-catchers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web\|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/uttar-pradesh/news/plagued-by-divine-curse-musahars-see-no-redemption-in-new-politicians/articleshow/57426017.cms\|title=UP elections 2017: Plagued by 'divine curse', Musahars see no redemption in new politicians {{!}} Uttar-Pradesh Election News - Times of India\|last=Mar 2\|first=Shailvee Sharda {{!}} TNN {{!}} Updated\|last2=2017\|website=The Times of India\|language=en\|access-date=2019-08-28\|last3=Ist\|first3=12:39}}</ref> [[Herbert Hope Risley]], in his 1881 survey of castes and tribes of Bengal, speculated that the Musahars were an offshoot of the hunter-gatherer [[Bhuiya]] from the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] who migrated to the Gangetic plains approximately 6-7 generations prior to his survey, around ~~300-350~~ years before present.<ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Mukul\|date=1999\|title=The Untouchable Present: Everyday Life of Musahars in North Bihar\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\|volume=34\|issue=49\|pages=3465–3470\|issn=0012-9976\|jstor=4408689}}</ref> It is now believed that this theory is generally correct. Modern genetic studies have found Musahars cluster very closely with Munda peoples like the [[Santal people\|Santhals]] and the [[Ho people\|Hos]], and demonstrate similar haplogroup frequencies for both maternal and paternal lineages.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal\|last=Chaubey\|first=Gyaneshwer\|date=2008-02-08\|title=Language Shift by Indigenous Population: A Model Genetic Study in South Asia\|journal=International Journal of Human Genetics\|volume=08\|issue=1\|doi=10.31901/24566330.2008/08.01.04\|issn=0972-3757\|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some Musahars have claimed that they once had their own language but it was lost when they migrated.<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Politico economic history of marginalization and change among the Musahars of east-central Tarai Nepal.\|last=Giri, Madhu.\|oclc=927407719}}</ref> This process has been observed in another tribal population, the [[Baiga tribe\|Baiga]], who also once spoke a Munda language but shifted to an Indo-European language in the distant past. However, unlike the Musahar, the Baiga remained isolated from Brahminical society at large and so were seen as a tribe rather than a caste.		In Bihar, the word Musahar is said to be derived from the [[Bhojpuri language\|Bhojpuri]] ''mūs+ahar'' (literally ''rat eater''), on account of their traditional occupation as rat catchers.<ref name="UpadhyayPandey1993">{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC&pg=PA436\|title=History Of Anthropological Thought\|author1=Vijay S. Upadhyay\|author2=Gaya Pandey\|date=1 January 1993\|publisher=Concept Publishing Company\|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1\|pages=436–\|accessdate=28 September 2012}}</ref> According to a local legend, [[Brahma\|Lord Brahma]] created man and gave him the horse to ride. The first Musahar decided to dig holes in the belly of the horse to fix his feet as he rode. This offended Lord Brahma, who cursed him and his descendants to be rat-catchers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web\|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/uttar-pradesh/news/plagued-by-divine-curse-musahars-see-no-redemption-in-new-politicians/articleshow/57426017.cms\|title=UP elections 2017: Plagued by 'divine curse', Musahars see no redemption in new politicians {{!}} Uttar-Pradesh Election News - Times of India\|last=Mar 2\|first=Shailvee Sharda {{!}} TNN {{!}} Updated\|last2=2017\|website=The Times of India\|language=en\|access-date=2019-08-28\|last3=Ist\|first3=12:39}}</ref> [[Herbert Hope Risley]], in his 1881 survey of castes and tribes of Bengal, speculated that the Musahars were an offshoot of the hunter-gatherer [[Bhuiya]] from the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] who migrated to the Gangetic plains approximately 6-7 generations prior to his survey, around 300–350 years before present.<ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Mukul\|date=1999\|title=The Untouchable Present: Everyday Life of Musahars in North Bihar\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\|volume=34\|issue=49\|pages=3465–3470\|issn=0012-9976\|jstor=4408689}}</ref> It is now believed that this theory is generally correct. Modern genetic studies have found Musahars cluster very closely with Munda peoples like the [[Santal people\|Santhals]] and the [[Ho people\|Hos]], and demonstrate similar haplogroup frequencies for both maternal and paternal lineages.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal\|last=Chaubey\|first=Gyaneshwer\|date=2008-02-08\|title=Language Shift by Indigenous Population: A Model Genetic Study in South Asia\|journal=International Journal of Human Genetics\|volume=08\|issue=1\|doi=10.31901/24566330.2008/08.01.04\|issn=0972-3757\|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some Musahars have claimed that they once had their own language but it was lost when they migrated.<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Politico economic history of marginalization and change among the Musahars of east-central Tarai Nepal.\|last=Giri, Madhu.\|oclc=927407719}}</ref> This process has been observed in another tribal population, the [[Baiga tribe\|Baiga]], who also once spoke a Munda language but shifted to an Indo-European language in the distant past. However, unlike the Musahar, the Baiga remained isolated from Brahminical society at large and so were seen as a tribe rather than a caste.

	== Present circumstances ==		== Present circumstances ==
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	The [[2011 Census of India]] for Uttar Pradesh showed the Musahar population as around 250,000. The same census also showed around 250,000 Mushahars in Bihar.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/SC_ST/PCA-A10/SC-0900-PCA-A-10-ddw.xlsx \|title= A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh \|publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India \|accessdate=2017-02-06}}</ref> However, Musahar activists have disputed this figure, claiming the Mushahar population in Bihar is over 4,000,000.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.newsclick.in/Bihar-Mushahars-Elections-2019\|title=Elections 2019: Polls Come and Go, No Progress for Mushahars of Bihar\|date=2019-04-09\|website=NewsClick\|language=en\|access-date=2019-06-13}}</ref> Over 230,000 Musahars live in Nepal, most in conditions similar to their counterparts in India.<ref name=":0" />		The [[2011 Census of India]] for Uttar Pradesh showed the Musahar population as around 250,000. The same census also showed around 250,000 Mushahars in Bihar.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/SC_ST/PCA-A10/SC-0900-PCA-A-10-ddw.xlsx \|title= A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh \|publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India \|accessdate=2017-02-06}}</ref> However, Musahar activists have disputed this figure, claiming the Mushahar population in Bihar is over 4,000,000.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.newsclick.in/Bihar-Mushahars-Elections-2019\|title=Elections 2019: Polls Come and Go, No Progress for Mushahars of Bihar\|date=2019-04-09\|website=NewsClick\|language=en\|access-date=2019-06-13}}</ref> Over 230,000 Musahars live in Nepal, most in conditions similar to their counterparts in India.<ref name=":0" />

	Some Musahars in Uttar Pradesh wish to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe, citing their claimed tribal roots that they saw in tribals from other areas of the country as well as the perception that richer Dalit castes like [[Jatav~~\|Jatavs~~]] were the only ones with access to reservation benefits.<ref name=":1" />		Some Musahars in Uttar Pradesh wish to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe, citing their claimed tribal roots that they saw in tribals from other areas of the country as well as the perception that richer Dalit castes like [[Jatav]]s were the only ones with access to reservation benefits.<ref name=":1" />

	Mushahars from the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] were transported by the British to the [[Sylhet region]] where they were made to work in tea plantations. They can still be found in areas in [[Habiganj District\|Habiganj]] such as Teliapara and Rema where they continue the same livelihood. They are an ethnic minority with a mere population of 3,000. They are divided into 6 clans; Trihutia, Maghaiya, Ghatwar, Darwar, Khairawar and Rikhian.<ref name=bpedia/>		Mushahars from the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] were transported by the British to the [[Sylhet region]] where they were made to work in tea plantations. They can still be found in areas in [[Habiganj District\|Habiganj]] such as Teliapara and Rema where they continue the same livelihood. They are an ethnic minority with a mere population of 3,000. They are divided into 6 clans; Trihutia, Maghaiya, Ghatwar, Darwar, Khairawar and Rikhian.<ref name=bpedia/>

imported>SierraTangoCharlie1: Reverted 1 edit by 103.139.232.58 (talk): Reverted : unexplained content removal

2021-07-31T13:36:19Z

Reverted 1 edit by 103.139.232.58 (talk): Reverted : unexplained content removal

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox caste
|caste_name = Musahar
|image = USAID Measuring Impact Conservation Enterprise Retrospective (Nepal; National Trust for Nature Conservation) (39403497735).jpg
|caption = Musahar woman collecting firewood near [[Sauraha]], [[Chitwan District]], [[Nepal]]
|classification =
|religions = [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]]
|languages = [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], [[Magahi language|Magahi]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]]
|country = [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Bangladesh]]
|population =
|region = Eastern Gangetic Plain and the [[Terai]]
|state = [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]]
|family_names = Manjhi
|notable_members = [[Dashrath Manjhi]], [[Jitan Ram Manjhi]], [[Bhagwati Devi]]
}}

'''Musahar''' or '''Mushahar'''<ref name="bpedia">{{cite book|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh|first=Subhash|last=Jengcham|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mushahar|chapter=Mushahar|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> are a [[Dalit]] community found in the eastern [[Indo-Gangetic Plain|Gangetic plain]] and the [[Terai]]. They are also known as '''''Banbasi'''''.<ref name="xlii3">{{cite book|title=People of India Uttar Pradesh|volume=XLII Part Three|editor=A Hasan & J C Das|pages=1006–1012|publisher=Manohar Publications}}</ref>The other names of the Musahar are Bhuiyan and Rajawar<ref name="Sachchidananda1988">{{cite book|author=Sachchidananda|title=Tradition And Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZ1EOSQHhlYC&pg=PA124|accessdate=28 September 2012|date=1 January 1988|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-072-5|pages=124–}}</ref> Their name literally means 'rat-eater' due to their main former occupation of catching rats, and there are many who are still forced to do this work due to destitution and poverty.

== Origins and history ==
[[File:The People of India Vol 1 Fig 6.jpg|thumb|Photo of a Musahar taken as part of a caste survey by [[Herbert Hope Risley]] in Bihar, 1890s]]
In Bihar, the word Musahar is said to be derived from the [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] ''mūs+ahar'' (literally ''rat eater''), on account of their traditional occupation as rat catchers.<ref name="UpadhyayPandey1993">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC&pg=PA436|title=History Of Anthropological Thought|author1=Vijay S. Upadhyay|author2=Gaya Pandey|date=1 January 1993|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-492-1|pages=436–|accessdate=28 September 2012}}</ref> According to a local legend, [[Brahma|Lord Brahma]] created man and gave him the horse to ride. The first Musahar decided to dig holes in the belly of the horse to fix his feet as he rode. This offended Lord Brahma, who cursed him and his descendants to be rat-catchers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/uttar-pradesh/news/plagued-by-divine-curse-musahars-see-no-redemption-in-new-politicians/articleshow/57426017.cms|title=UP elections 2017: Plagued by 'divine curse', Musahars see no redemption in new politicians {{!}} Uttar-Pradesh Election News - Times of India|last=Mar 2|first=Shailvee Sharda {{!}} TNN {{!}} Updated|last2=2017|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2019-08-28|last3=Ist|first3=12:39}}</ref> [[Herbert Hope Risley]], in his 1881 survey of castes and tribes of Bengal, speculated that the Musahars were an offshoot of the hunter-gatherer [[Bhuiya]] from the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] who migrated to the Gangetic plains approximately 6-7 generations prior to his survey, around 300-350 years before present.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mukul|date=1999|title=The Untouchable Present: Everyday Life of Musahars in North Bihar|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=34|issue=49|pages=3465–3470|issn=0012-9976|jstor=4408689}}</ref> It is now believed that this theory is generally correct. Modern genetic studies have found Musahars cluster very closely with Munda peoples like the [[Santal people|Santhals]] and the [[Ho people|Hos]], and demonstrate similar haplogroup frequencies for both maternal and paternal lineages.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Chaubey|first=Gyaneshwer|date=2008-02-08|title=Language Shift by Indigenous Population: A Model Genetic Study in South Asia|journal=International Journal of Human Genetics|volume=08|issue=1|doi=10.31901/24566330.2008/08.01.04|issn=0972-3757|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some Musahars have claimed that they once had their own language but it was lost when they migrated.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Politico economic history of marginalization and change among the Musahars of east-central Tarai Nepal.|last=Giri, Madhu.|oclc=927407719}}</ref> This process has been observed in another tribal population, the [[Baiga tribe|Baiga]], who also once spoke a Munda language but shifted to an Indo-European language in the distant past. However, unlike the Musahar, the Baiga remained isolated from Brahminical society at large and so were seen as a tribe rather than a caste.

== Present circumstances ==
The Musahar consists of three endogamous clans: ''Bhagat'', ''Sakatiya'' and ''Turkahia''. They are now mostly landless agricultural labourers and sometimes still have to resort to rat catching to survive during lean times. They are one of the most marginalised castes in India, even among Dalits. Although the Musahar are Hindu, and celebrate most local Hindu festivals like ''[[Holi]]'' and ''[[Diwali]]'', they believe in a number of tribal deities, including ''Dinabhadri'' and ''Buniya Baba''.<ref name="xlii3"/> Musahars also have their own rituals like the ''kul pooja'', in which participants bathe in boiling milk to worship ancestors. They also offer liquor during ''poojas'' and weddings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Nepal human rights year book 2018 : English edition : this report covers the period - January to December 2017|others=Paudel, Madan,, Mishra, Rajesh (Editor),, Informal Sector Service Centre (Kathmandu, Nepal)|isbn=9789937896498|edition= First|location=Kathmandu, Nepal|oclc=1030370989}}</ref>

The Musahar are found throughout eastern Uttar Pradesh, southern Nepal and Bihar, and are employed in Bihar's stone quarries. Many have also emigrated to the states of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] and [[Haryana]] as agricultural labourers, with many Nepali Musahars working as migrant labourers for 6 months at a time.<ref name=":0" /> They speak Bhojpuri, [[Magahi language|Magahi]] and [[Maithili language|Maithili]] but many now have working knowledge of Hindi.<ref name="bihar">{{cite book|title=People of India Bihar|publisher=Seagull Books|editor=S Gopal & Hetukar Jha|volume=XVI Part Two|pages=702–707}}</ref>

Almost all Musahars live in rural areas, with a mere 3% living in the city. In the rural areas, Musahar are primarily bonded agricultural labourers, but often go without work for as much as eight months in a year. Children work alongside their parents in the fields or as [[rag-picker]]s, earning as little as ₹25-30 ($0.35-0.40) a day. The Musahar [[literacy rate]] is 3% overall, and falls to an abysmal 1% among women. By some estimates, as many as 85% of some villages of Musahars suffer from [[malnutrition]] and with access to health centres scant, diseases such as [[malaria]] and ''[[Visceral leishmaniasis|kala-azar]]'' are prevalent.<ref name=":0" />

The Government of Bihar operates the Mahadalit Mission, which partially funds some programs to expand education and other social welfare programs for the Musahar. An example is the Prerna schools operated by [[Sudha Varghese]], residential schools for Musahar girls that include vocational training in the curriculum. Varghese also operates Nari Gunjan, which has 50 centres teaching 1,500 Musahar girls throughout Bihar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsclick.in/racing-rats-or-racing-food|title=Racing Rats or Racing Food|website=newsclick.in|accessdate=19 February 2021}}</ref>

The [[2011 Census of India]] for Uttar Pradesh showed the Musahar population as around 250,000. The same census also showed around 250,000 Mushahars in Bihar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/SC_ST/PCA-A10/SC-0900-PCA-A-10-ddw.xlsx |title= A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh |publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |accessdate=2017-02-06}}</ref> However, Musahar activists have disputed this figure, claiming the Mushahar population in Bihar is over 4,000,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsclick.in/Bihar-Mushahars-Elections-2019|title=Elections 2019: Polls Come and Go, No Progress for Mushahars of Bihar|date=2019-04-09|website=NewsClick|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13}}</ref> Over 230,000 Musahars live in Nepal, most in conditions similar to their counterparts in India.<ref name=":0" />

Some Musahars in Uttar Pradesh wish to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe, citing their claimed tribal roots that they saw in tribals from other areas of the country as well as the perception that richer Dalit castes like [[Jatav|Jatavs]] were the only ones with access to reservation benefits.<ref name=":1" />

Mushahars from the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] were transported by the British to the [[Sylhet region]] where they were made to work in tea plantations. They can still be found in areas in [[Habiganj District|Habiganj]] such as Teliapara and Rema where they continue the same livelihood. They are an ethnic minority with a mere population of 3,000. They are divided into 6 clans; Trihutia, Maghaiya, Ghatwar, Darwar, Khairawar and Rikhian.<ref name=bpedia/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Ethnic groups in Bangladesh}}

[[Category:Social groups of Nepal]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Dalit communities]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Bihar]]