Bihari Rajputs refers to the people of [[Rajput]] community of the eastern state Bihar and adjoining region of Uttar Pradesh.
{{Infobox ethnic group
'''Babu Saheb''' (or '''Babu Sahib''') is a term or [[sobriquet]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-lok-sabha-elections-2014-lights-fail-in-nanaur-village-in-the-ara-lok-sabha-constituency-1978712|title=Lok Sabha Elections 2014: Lights fail in Nanaur village in the Ara Lok Sabha constituency|date=16 April 2014|website=dna}}</ref> used mainly in the Indian states of [[Bihar]], [[Purvanchal|Uttar Pradesh]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbYwDwAAQBAJ&q=babu+saheb+&pg=PA30 | title=Event, Metaphor, Memory: Chauri Chaura, 1922-1992 | publisher=Univ of California Press | date=1995 | access-date=17 December 2018 | author=Shahid Amin | pages=130| isbn=9780520087804 }}</ref> and [[Jharkhand]] to describe members of the [[Rajput]] caste<ref>{{cite web|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/battle-bihar-jitan-ram-manjhi-caste-politics|title=Jitan Ram Manjhi and the politics of caste|first=Priyanka|last=Dubey|website=The Caravan}}</ref> who traditionally formed part of the royalty and [[feudal]] elite respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/where-nitish-shows-up-in-lantern-flicker/|title=Where Nitish shows up in lantern flicker|date=3 November 2015|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xhBDwAAQBAJ&q=babu+saheb+rajput&pg=PT9 | title=Recasting Caste: From the Sacred to the Profane | publisher=SAGE Publishing India | access-date=17 December 2018 | author=Hira Singh | pages=4| isbn=9789351504030 | date=2014-03-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Class War in Bhojpur | author=Arun Sinha | journal=Economic and Political Weekly | volume=13 |issue = 1| pages=10–11 | year=1978|jstor = 4366262}}</ref>
| languages = [[Hindi]]{{•}}[[Magahi]]{{•}}[[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]{{•}}[[Maithili language|Maithili]]
| religions = [[File:Om.svg|15px]] [[Hinduism]]
}}
'''Rajputs in Bihar''' are members of the [[Rajput]] community living in the eastern Indian state of [[Bihar]]. The Rajputs in Bihar are addressed by titles such as ‘''Babuaan''’<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brahman caste was addressed as 'Pandit Jee', a Rajput as 'Babu Saheb', and all the rest as 'Munshi Jee'. |first=Hira Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-9JEQAAQBAJ&dq=babu+saheb+rajput&pg=PR10 |title=Annihilation of Caste in India |date=2025 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-031-78705-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=In a flow just once he said that the poor used to walk before "Babu Saheb", a term used to refer to upper caste of Rajputs in Bihar. |first=Pramod Kumar Rai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iIqEAAAQBAJ&dq=babu+saheb&pg=PA100 |title=Politics of Bihar: Lalu Junction to Tejashwi Junction via Nitish |date=2021-04-18 |publisher=Blue Hill Publications |isbn=978-93-90788-22-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Closely affiliated to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and set themselves up as adversaries to the Rajput Babu Sahebs, who are feudal owners of the local estates. |first=Ipshita Basu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhblEAAAQBAJ&dq=babu+rajput&pg=PA86 |title=Reclaiming Indigeneity and Democracy in India's Jharkhand |date=2004-02-02 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-888467-5 |language=en}}</ref> They traditionally formed part of the [[feudal]] elite in Bihari society.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xhBDwAAQBAJ&q=babu+saheb+rajput&pg=PT9 | title=Recasting Caste: From the Sacred to the Profane | publisher=SAGE Publishing India | access-date=17 December 2018 | author=Hira Singh | pages=4| isbn=9789351504030 | date=2014-03-04 }}</ref><ref name="Hart2019">{{cite book | author = Henry C. Hart | date = 4 March 2019 | title = Indira Gandhi's India | publisher = Routledge | pages = | isbn = 978-0-429-72607-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eCyNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT154}}</ref><ref name="BergerHeidemann2013">{{cite book | author=Carolyn Brown Heinz|editor1 = Peter Berger | editor2 = Frank Heidemann | date = 3 June 2013 | title = The Modern Anthropology of India: Ethnography, Themes and Theory | publisher = Routledge | pages = | isbn = 978-1-134-06118-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sQF5-d9BMqcC&pg=PT48|quote=The four dominant high caste groups (the forward castes)-Brahman, Bhumihar, Rajput, Kayastha-together constitute about 12 percent of the population. These are the old elite, from whose numbers came the major zamindars and land owning castes. The so-called Backward castes consisting of about half the population of Bihar, were further classified soon after independence into Upper Backward and Lower Backward (Blair 1980). The upper backwards - Bania, Yadav, Kurmi and Koiri - constitute about 19 percent of the population, and now include most of the rising Kulak class of successful peasants who have acquired land, adopted improved agricultural technology, and become a powerful force in Bihar politics. This is true, above all, of the Yadavas. The lower backwards are shudra castes such as Barhi, Dhanuk, Kahar, Kumhar, Lohar, Mallah, Teli etc, about 32 percent of the population. The largest components of the scheduled castes(14 percent) are the Dusadh, Chamar, and Musahar, the Dalit groups who are in many parts of the statelocked in struggles for land and living wages and living wages with the rich peasants and landlords of the forward and upper backward castes}}</ref><ref name="Zarhani2018">{{cite book | author = Seyed Hossein Zarhani | date = 3 September 2018 | title = Governance and Development in India: A Comparative Study on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar after Liberalization | publisher = Routledge | pages = 183, 210 | isbn = 978-1-351-25518-9 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_3tqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT183}}</ref> Rajputs were pressed with the [[Zamindari]] abolition and [[Bhoodan movement]] in post-independence India; along with other [[Forward caste|Forward castes]], they lost their significant position in Bihar's agrarian society, leading to the rise of [[Other Backward Class]]es (OBCs).
==History==
==History==
From 1200 CE, many Rajput groups moved eastwards towards the [[Indo-Gangetic plains|Eastern Gangetic plains]], forming their own chieftaincies.<ref name="Bayly1988">{{cite book |author=C. A. Bayly |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18 |date=19 May 1988 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-31054-3 |pages=18–19}}</ref> These minor Rajput kingdoms were scattered across the Gangetic plains of modern-day [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name="Ramusack2004">{{cite book |author=Barbara N. Ramusack |title=The Indian Princes and their States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kz1-mtazYqEC&pg=PA14 |date=8 January 2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-44908-3 |pages=14–15}}</ref> During this process, petty clashes with Native populations occurred and in some cases, alliances were formed.<ref name="Bayly1988" /> Among these Rajput chieftaincies were the zamindars of [[Bhojpuri region|Bhojpur]]<ref name="Chatterjee1996">{{cite book |author=Kumkum Chatterjee |title=Merchants, Politics, and Society in Early Modern India: Bihar, 1733–1820 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUeqQ2buQ80C&pg=PA35 |year=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-10303-1 |pages=35–36}}</ref> and the [[Taluqdar|taluks]] of [[Awadh]].<ref name="Fox1971">{{cite book |author=Richard Gabriel Fox |title=Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHEcBTmxlOEC&pg=PA68 |year=1971 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-01807-5 |pages=68–69}}</ref>
Legendary accounts state that from 1200 CE, many Rajput groups moved eastwards towards the [[Indo-Gangetic plains|Eastern Gangetic plains]] forming their own chieftaincies.<ref name="Bayly1988">{{cite book |author=C. A. Bayly |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18 |date=19 May 1988 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-31054-3 |pages=18–19}}</ref> These minor Rajput kingdoms were dotted all over the Gangetic plains in modern-day [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name="Ramusack2004">{{cite book |author=Barbara N. Ramusack |title=The Indian Princes and their States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kz1-mtazYqEC&pg=PA14 |date=8 January 2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-44908-3 |pages=14–15}}</ref> During this process, petty clashes occurred with the local population and in some cases, alliances were formed.<ref name="Bayly1988" /> Among these Rajput chieftaincies were the [[Bhojpuri region|Bhojpur]] zamindars<ref name="Chatterjee1996">{{cite book |author=Kumkum Chatterjee |title=Merchants, Politics, and Society in Early Modern India: Bihar, 1733–1820 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUeqQ2buQ80C&pg=PA35 |year=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-10303-1 |pages=35–36}}</ref> and the [[Taluqdar|taluks]] of [[Awadh]].<ref name="Fox1971">{{cite book |author=Richard Gabriel Fox |title=Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHEcBTmxlOEC&pg=PA68 |year=1971 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-01807-5 |pages=68–69}}</ref>
The migration of Rajput clan chiefs into these parts of the [[Gangetic Plains]] also contributed to the agricultural appropriation of previously forested areas, especially in Southern Bihar.<ref name="Prakash2003">{{cite book |author=Gyan Prakash |title=Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQFvks7lahoC&pg=PA64 |date=30 October 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52658-6 |pages=64–66}}</ref> Some historians have linked this eastwards expansion with the onset of [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid invasion]] in the West.<ref name="Prakash2003" />
These groups included the [[Ujjainiya]] clan of [[Paramara dynasty|Parmar Rajputs]].<ref name="Ahmad">{{cite book |title=Popular Literature And Pre-Modern Societies In South Asia |editor1-first=Surinder |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=I. D. |editor2-last=Gaur |pages=76–77 |publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-317-1358-7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVA0JAzQJkYC |chapter=State Formation and Consolidation under the Ujjainiya Rajputs in Medieval Bihar: Testimony of Oral Traditions as Recorded in the ''Tawarikh-i-Ujjainiya''|first=Imtiaz |last=Ahmad |access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> [[Gajpati Ujjainia]] of the same clan was a chieftain and commander in the army of [[Sher Shah Suri]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Surinder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVA0JAzQJkYC |title=Popular Literature and Pre-modern Societies in South Asia |last2=Gaur |first2=I. D. |date=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-1358-7 |pages=80 |language=en}}</ref> In the early 18the century, [[Kunwar Dhir]], a Rajput Zamindar of Bhojpur district rebelled and fought against the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rizavī |first=Saiyada Najamula Razā |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5RafkUBcvMC |title=Zamindars and Revenue Farmers of Eastern Uttar Pradesh: From Mughal to Colonial Rule |date=2004 |publisher=Anamika Pub & Distributors |isbn=978-81-7975-053-7 |pages=76 |language=en}}</ref>
In the [[Middle Ages]], Rajput migrants to the region of Bihar founded the [[Gidhaur chieftaincy|Gidhaur Raj]], [[Deo Raj]], Namudag Raj and [[Kharagpur Raj]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Prakash |first=Gyan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQFvks7lahoC |title=Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India |date=2003-10-30 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52658-6 |pages=64 |language=en}}</ref> In the same period, the Rajput [[Gandhavariya]] clan controlled a significant portion of North Bihar.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.108178/page/n159 | title=Mithila In The Age Of Vidyapati | publisher=Chaukhambha Orientalia | access-date=14 January 2019 | author=Radhakrishna Choudhary | date=1976 | pages= 131–132}}</ref> The [[Sonbarsa Raj]] also belonged to this clan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhagwant Sahai |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283324 |title=The Journal Of The Bihar Puravid Parisad 1983 Vol. Vii And Viii |date=1984 |pages=414, 418}}</ref> What brought success to these Hindu princelings was the strong clan organisation upon which they rested.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Bayly | first=C.A. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18 | title= Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870 | date=2012 |pages=18| publisher=CUP Archive | isbn=978-0-521-31054-3 }}</ref>
From the 16th century, Rajput soldiers from the eastern regions of Bihar and [[Awadh]] were recruited as mercenaries for Rajputs in the west, particularly in the [[Malwa]] region.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism |editor1-first=Waltraud |editor1-last=Ernst |editor2-first=Biswamoy |editor2-last=Pati |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-134-11988-2 |first=Amar |last=Farooqui |chapter=The Subjugation of the Sindia State |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eKbW3ukh9oC&pg=PA57 |page=57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Dirk H. A. Kolff|author-link=Dirk H. A. Kolff|title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC |year=1990|page=87 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52305-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoRDAAAAYAAJ&q=military+history+of+india |title=Military History of India |pages=56–61|author=Jadunath Sarkar|author-link=Jadunath Sarkar|publisher=Orient Longmans(Original from the University of Virginia) |year=1960 |isbn=9780861251551 |access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref> During the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Great Uprising of 1857]], a section of Rajputs participated under the leadership of [[Kunwar Singh]], who was the main leader of the revolution in Bihar.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ByTWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 |title=Aftermath of Revolt: India 1857-1970|author=Thomas R. Metcalf|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2015|
isbn=978-1400876648|page=299|accessdate=28 May 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Koor Sing, 'The Rebel of Arrah,' and his attendants.jpg|thumb|[[Kunwar Singh|Veer Kunwar Singh]] and his attendants, Jagdishpur Raj]]
In the traditional agrarian society of Bihar in the [[Indian Independence movement|pre-independence period]], Rajputs were among the upper castes that controlled the agricultural production through ''[[Zamindar]]i'' rights. Some of the upper-castes were also recruited to the lower level of administration under the British rulers. Rajputs, a less-literate relative of other upper castes, played a limited role in public administration and were primarily property holders.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2b_j0mNe2FwC&pg=PA12|title= Land and Society in India: Agrarian Relations in Colonial North Bihar|author=Bindeshwar Ram|publisher=Orient Blackswan|pages=12–13|year=1997|isbn=8125006435}}</ref> Between 1900 and 1920, it was noted that Rajputs formed a large portion of the population of some regions of southern Bihar.{{Clarify|reason=What is this sentence doing here, in the midst of literacy discussion?|date=June 2022}} In [[Shahabad district|Shahabad]] region, where Rajputs were prominent, they took little or no interest in intellectual pursuits. The literacy rate of the region and of Bihar as a whole was also in precarious state.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PX938QYfmsC&pg=PA11|title= Education and Social Changes in Bihar, 1900-1921: A Survey of Social History of Bihar from Lord Curzon to Noncooperation Movement|author= Shreedhar Narayan Pandey|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass|year=1975|isbn=0842609865|pages=11–12|access-date=2020-12-22}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=at what date?|date=June 2022}}
The immigration of Rajput clan chiefs into these parts of the [[Gangetic Plains|Gangetic plains]] also contributed the agricultural appropriation of previously forested areas, especially in South Bihar.<ref name="Prakash2003">{{cite book |author=Gyan Prakash |title=Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQFvks7lahoC&pg=PA64 |date=30 October 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52658-6 |pages=64–66}}</ref> Some have linked this eastwards expansion with the onset of [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid invasion]] in the West.<ref name="Prakash2003" />
In post-independence India, pressed with the [[Zamindari]] abolition and [[Bhoodan movement]], Rajputs and other upper castes lost their prominence in the agrarian society of Bihar.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6iy0cLkigiEC
From as early as the 16th century, Rajput soldiers from the eastern regions of [[Bihar]] and [[Awadh]], were recruited as mercenaries for Rajputs in the west, particularly in the [[Malwa]] region.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism |editor1-first=Waltraud |editor1-last=Ernst |editor2-first=Biswamoy |editor2-last=Pati |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-134-11988-2 |first=Amar |last=Farooqui |chapter=The Subjugation of the Sindia State |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eKbW3ukh9oC&pg=PA57 |page=57}}</ref>
|title=The Situated Politics of Belonging|author1=Nira Yuval-Davis|author2=Kalpana Kannabiran|author3=Ulrike Vieten
|publisher=SAGE|year=2006|
isbn=1412921015|page=131|accessdate=27 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="Samaddar2016">{{cite book | author = Ranabir Samaddar | date = 3 March 2016 | title = Government of Peace: Social Governance, Security and the Problematic of Peace | publisher = Routledge | pages = 168– | isbn = 978-1-317-12538-9 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ew2rCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA168}}</ref>
Oliver Mendelsohn and [[Marika Vicziany]] said the "untouchables" who formed the bottom of society in Bihar have clashed{{Clarify|reason=Over what period exactly? Which years/decades/centuries? Or throughout history?|date=September 2025}} with communities, including [[Yadav]]s and [[Kurmi]]s in the middle segment, While Rajputs, [[Bhumihar]]s and [[Brahmin]]s in the upper segment of society. The authors have identified land control as the major characteristic of the opponents and not the caste identity. According to Mendelsohn and Vicziany, the exploiters of the untouchables doesn't have the same caste identity in all the region, and the conflicts were not restricted to Bihar.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mendelsohn |first1=Oliver |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGbp9MjhvKAC |title=The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern India |last2=Vicziany |first2=Marika |date=1998-04-30 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-55671-2 |pages=58 |language=en|quote=In the case of the castes which lie in the bottom stratum of Bihari society, particularly the Untouchables, they too are acting out of a class as well as a caste logic. So their enemies are far from constant in terms of caste identity: Untouchables have violently clashed with Kurmis and Yadavs from the middle stratum, and Bhumihars, Rajputs and Brahmins from the upper stratum. The key characteristic of their opponents has not been caste identity but rather land control: in the particular region where violent conflict has become endemic, Untouchables have tended to come into conflict with those castes which happen to control the land. Nor is this a merely Bihari phenomenon: throughout India there have been reports of Untouchables coming into conflict with newly rising peasant communities, rather than simply their traditional exploiters from upper castes.}}</ref> The Rajputs and Bhumihars and not the Brahmin and Kayastha being the major landowners among the upper castes is also supported by a study by sociologist Badri Narayan.<ref name="ChannaMencher2013">{{cite book |author=Badri Narayan| editor1 = Subhadra Mitra Channa | editor2 = Joan P. Mencher | date = 30 May 2013 | title = Life as a Dalit: Views from the Bottom on Caste in India | publisher = SAGE Publishing India | pages = 420| isbn = 9788132118022 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sRdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT420|quote=The so-called forward castes predominantly consist of the Brahman, Bhumihar, Rajput, and Kayastha communities. Among these, the Bhumihars and Rajputs are the dominant landowning castes who once ruled various parts of the state.}}</ref>
Kolff describes some of the Rajputs of [[Bihar]], [[Awadh]] and [[Varanasi]] with the terminology "''Pseudo Rajput''" as they were regarded as ''Pseudo rajputs'' by their western counterparts. These eastern Rajput often accompanied the Rajput of Rajasthan in their battles with the hordes of their supporters.They led the band of warriors called ''[[Purbiya]]s'' in order to assist their western counterparts but were notorious for frequently changing their allegiance as [[Silhadi]] did in the Battle against [[Babur]], when he deserted Rana Sanga in the [[Battle of Khanwa]] leading to defeat of Rajput contingents and consolidation of [[Mughal empire]] in India.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dirk H. A. Kolff|author-link=Dirk H. A. Kolff|title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC |year=1990|page=87 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52305-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoRDAAAAYAAJ&q=military+history+of+india |title=Military History of India |pages=56–61|author=Jadunath Sarkar|author-link=Jadunath Sarkar|publisher=Orient Longmans(Original from the University of Virginia) |year=1960 |isbn=9780861251551 |access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref>
In [[Shahabad district]], some Rajput and Bhumihar landowners frequently raped lower-caste women, and by the 1930s, the [[Triveni Sangh]] gave the abused women a platform to express her frustration.<ref name="Damodaran1992">{{cite book | author = Vinita Damodaran | date = 1992 | title = Broken Promises: Popular Protest, Indian Nationalism, and the Congress Party in Bihar, 1935-1946 | publisher = Oxford University Press | pages = 75| isbn = 978-0-19-562979-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rNa1AAAAIAAJ|quote=The rape of lower-caste women by Rajput and Bhumihar landowners was common in Shahabad where, by the 1930s, anger and resentment against the frequent violation of women were openly expressed on the platform of the Tribeni Sangh}}</ref>
In a survey conducted{{when|date=June 2022}} in a few villages in Bhojpur, rape of lower-caste women from [[Musahar]] and [[Chamar]] castes by Rajput and Bhumihar landlords was a major cause of anguish until the emergence of [[Naxalism]].<ref name="SharmaSinghKumar1994">{{cite book | author1 = Kaushal Kishore Sharma | author2 = Prabhakar Prasad Singh | author3 = Ranjan Kumar | date = 1994 | title = Peasant Struggles in Bihar, 1831-1992: Spontaneity to Organisation | publisher = Centre for Peasant Studies | pages = 247| isbn = 9788185078885 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8tBHAAAAMAAJ|quote=According to them, before the emergence of Naxalism on the scene and consequent resistance on the part of these hapless fellows, "rape of lower caste women by Rajput and Bhumihar landlords used to cause so much anguish among the lower cates, who, owing to their hapless situation, could not dare oppose them. In their own words, "within the social constraints, the suppressed sexual hunger of the predominant castes often found unrestricted outlet among the poor, lower caste of Bhojpur-notably Chamars and Mushars.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPKpCQAAQBAJ |title=Maoist Insurgency and India's Internal Security Architecture |author1=E M Rammohun|author2=Amritpal Singh|author3=A K Agarwal |publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Ltd|year= 2012|isbn=978-9381411636|pages=18|accessdate=12 June 2022}} Consider the oppression of the lower castes in Bihar. In Bhojpur district of Bihar, the lower castes lived in utter poverty and were also subjected to social exploitation. Kalyan Mukherjee and Rajender Singh Yadav described that the oppression of the lower castes at the hands of the upper castes did not flow from numerical superiority, but rather from niches in the economic hierarchy apropos land ownership and the monopoly over labour. Further the culture of violence ensured that the Chamar or the Musahar never raise their heads in protest. Though begar was a thing of the past, the banihar worked often for nothing. Wearing a clean dhoti, remaining seated in the presence of the master, even on a cot outside his own hut, walking erect were taboo. When the evenings fell or in lonely stretches of field, the rape of his womenfolk by the landlord's lathieths and scions complete a picture of unbridled Bumihar, Rajput over lordship.</ref>
==During the colonial period==
The colonial period refers to period before 1947 when in the traditional agrarian society, the Rajputs of north Bihar controlled the agricultural production through the ''[[Zamindar]]i'' rights. The upper caste which included Rajput, Yadav controlled land and some of these upper-castes were also recruited to the lower rung of administration under the British rulers. The [[Brahmin]]s who were significant landholders were dominant in some regions while those who were poor were recruited as the ''lathails'' and tax assesse for agricultural lands and also as [[Peon]]s. The castes like [[Kayastha]]s work in various departments like those of accounts while the middle peasant castes which included [[Koeri]] and [[Kurmi]] functioned as occupancy tenants. Some of the peasants from these caste who became prosperous acquired caste consciousness and if ill-treated by the upper-castes were likely to resort to physical violence in retaliation. The moneylenders primarily belong to [[Sunar|Sonar]] and other mercantile castes. The Rajputs were more active in property holding but were less-literate as compared to other upper-castes and hence were less active in public administration.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2b_j0mNe2FwC&pg=PA12|title= Land and Society in India: Agrarian Relations in Colonial North Bihar|
author=Bindeshwar Ram|
publisher=Orient Blackswan|pages=12–13|year=1997|
isbn=8125006435}}</ref> Between 1900-1920, it was noted that Rajputs formed large chunk of the population of some of the region of south Bihar. In Shahabad region were they were most prominently present, it was recorded that they took little or no interest in intellectual pursuits. The literacy rate of the region and Bihar as a whole was also in precarious state.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PX938QYfmsC&pg=PA11|title= Education and Social Changes in Bihar, 1900-1921: A Survey of Social History of Bihar from Lord Curzon to Noncooperation Movement|author= Shreedhar Narayan Pandey|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass|year=1975|
Records of the time indicates that the upper-caste Rajputs practiced '''Dola Pratha''' in some regions of Bihar and [[West Bengal]], in which the newly wed bride of the [[Dalit]]s and landless labourers (who worked for wages in their fields) had to spend one night with the landlord before commissioning of her nuptial rites.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNCGAwAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA46|title=State of Justice In India Issues of Social Justice|author=Ranabir Samaddar|publisher=SAGE Publications India|year= 2009|pages=46, 65|
isbn=978-8132104193|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref> The ground level reports including the discourse with the women of agricultural labourers families also indicates the various patterns of abuse in which they were forced to perform ''[[Begar]]'' ( unpaid menial work ) and faced undignified teasing like "pinching on breast" by the Rajput landlords. When these women rejected the landlord's proposal of sexual contact, it was common for the landlords to falsely implicate the male members of their families and their kins in criminal cases. In some of the villages in Bhojpur region of Bihar, the frequent rapes of [[Chamar]] and [[Dusadh]] women by their landlords in order to keep their men in submissive position was also prevalent. Besides sexual assaults, the drawing of water from the village wells and walking on the pathways alongside the landlords in Rajput villages were also forbidden for the lower castes.<ref name="UN">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-s9SIp1-OsC&pg=PA73|title=Case Studies on Strengthening Co-ordination Between Non-governmental Organizations and Government Agencies in Promoting Social Development|publisher=United Nations (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific)|year=1989|page=72,73|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
According to Fernando Franco, in parts of central Bihar, who describes the condition of women agricultural laborers; "Even as late as the 1970s, the rape of lower caste women by [some]Rajputs/Bhumihars[landlords] had almost become a tradition, an accepted social evil, a fate which many bore unquestioningly".<ref name="Franco2002">{{cite book | author = Fernando Franco | date = 2002 | title = Pain and Awakening: The Dynamics of Dalit Identity in Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh | publisher = Indian Social Institute | isbn = 9788187218463 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ueRtAAAAMAAJ|page=52}}</ref>
By the 1960s, most of the prevalent feudal practices came to an end due to the activism of [[Kisan Sabha (1919-1922)|Kisan Sabha]]s, the organization led by middle peasant castes who also brought the issues of women rights and dignity within its fold and allowed the agricultural labourer women to voice for themselves.<ref name="UN"/>
Ranabir Samaddar cited an example of an Anwa village in which upper-caste Rajputs practiced ''Dola Pratha''; newly wedded brides of [[Dalit]]s and landless labourers had to spend one night with the landlord before having sex with her husband.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNCGAwAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA46|title=State of Justice In India Issues of Social Justice|author=Ranabir Samaddar|publisher=SAGE Publications India|year= 2009|pages=46, 65|
The Rajputs also countered the upward mobility of some of the peasant castes, who by virtue of their economic prosperity sought higher status by wearing ''[[Janeu]]'', a sacred thread or claimed ''[[Kshatriya]]'' status. The records indicates that during the tenure of [[Asaf-ud-Daula]] in Awadh, when a section of Awadhiya Kurmi were about to be bestowed with the title of ''Raja'', the Rajput nobles of Asaf's court caused stiff opposition to the move despite the fact that the Rajputs themselves were newcomers to the court and were peasant-soldiers a few year before.<ref name="Pinch ">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC|title=Peasants and Monks in British India
isbn=978-8132104193|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref> According to a report from Sonatola village in Bihar, in the neighbouring village Berath, some Dalit women said when lower-caste women rejected the landlord's proposal of sexual contact, it was common for the landlords to falsely implicate the male members of their families and their kin in criminal cases. Besides sexual assaults, the drawing of water from the village wells and walking on the pathways alongside the landlords in that village were forbidden for the lower castes.<ref name="UN">{{cite book |last=Kelkar |first=Govind |chapter=Women and Land Rights Movements |title=Case Studies on Strengthening Co-ordination Between Non-governmental Organizations and Government Agencies in Promoting Social Development |publisher=United Nations (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) |year=1989 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-s9SIp1-OsC&pg=PA73 |at=Sec. "Kisan Sabha and Kisan Samiti: Peasant Movements and Women (India)", pp. 72–73}}</ref> By the 1960s, most of the prevalent feudal practices came to an end due to the activism of [[Kisan Sabha (1919-1922)|Kisan Sabha]]s, an organization led by middle-peasant castes who also campaigned for women rights and dignity, and allowed agricultural-labourer women to speak for themselves.<ref name="UN"/>{{rp|pages=72–73}}
|author=William R. Pinch|
publisher=University of California Press|year=1996|
Later, assertion of many left-wing organizations took place in Bihar, the most prominent among them being [[Maoist Communist Centre of India]] (MCC), which waged wars against the landlords for the cause of lower castes. In Bihar, the prime targets of this organisation were Rajputs, against whom most of the caste-inspired massacres were committed. The events at "Darmian" and [[Dalelchak-Bhagaura massacre|Dalelchak-Bhagaura]], among others, are considered caste-based violence perpetrated against Rajputs by MCC.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ6FHeJJszcC&pg=PA235 |title= Confessional Terror A Dateline to Death|author1=Bhawani Singh|author2=Vibhuti Singh Shekhawat|publisher=Anamika Pub & Distributors|year=2007|
isbn=0520916301|pages=84, 85|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
isbn=978-8179751756|page=235|accessdate=28 May 2022}}</ref>
In the words of historian [[Richard Barnett (historian)|Richard Barnett]]:
{{quote|Ironically, the Rajput constituency of Awadh itself composed a “group of newcomers to the court, who had been peasant soldiers only a few years before. They were called, half sarcastically, the ‘Tilangi Rajas’ [or] ‘trooper rajas’—the people described by the shocked Muhammad Faiz Baksh as the new Nawab’s courtiers: ‘Naked rustics, whose fathers and brothers were with their own hands guiding the plow . . . , rode about as Asaf ud-daula’s orderlies.’”<ref name="Pinch "/>}}
In the 1990s, the accession of [[Lalu Prasad Yadav]] to the premiership of Bihar brought socio-economic changes in the state's feudal society. Under the leadership of [[Anand Mohan Singh]], a campaign against the [[Mandal Commission]] was undertaken in the state. The movement was also opposed to the rule of Lalu Prasad Yadav. [[Pappu Yadav]], an associate of Yadav and a [[Janta Dal]] leader, led a campaign of violence against the "Upper Castes".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Qwd4I6Q5uMC&pg=PA52|title=Bihar in Flames|author1=S.K. Ghosh|author2=Srikanta Ghosh|publisher=APH Publishing|year=2000|isbn=8176481602|access-date=15 December 2020|pages=52–53}}</ref>
According to William Pinch :
{{Quote|...the Rajputs of Awadh, who along with brahmans constituted the main beneficiaries of what historian Richard Barnett characterizes as “Asaf’s permissive program of social mobility,” were not willing to let that mobility reach beyond certain arbitrary sociocultural boundaries.<ref name="Pinch "/>}}
==Politics==
==Politics==
At the time of independence, Rajputs and other upper castes had a monopoly in the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) and Bihar state politics. Over time, conflict within the upper-caste groups emerged in the INC, and Rajputs and Bhumihars became major challengers of the dominance of the [[Kayastha]] caste. This period saw the emergence of [[Bhumihar]]s as the most-significant caste group within the INC; to counter the Bhumihars, Rajputs allied with Kayasthas, leading to intense inter-caste conflicts at all level of politics in Bihar and rise of caste-based political patronage, crippling the state's politics in later years.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&q=sunlight+sena|title=Community Warriors State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar|publisher=Anthem Press India|author=Ashwani Kumar|year=2008|
In pre 1990 period, the Rajputs along with [[Brahmin]], [[Bhumihar]] and [[Kayastha]] dominated not only the social and political space of Bihar but also the judiciary and bureaucracy. It has been alleged that the upper-caste dominance for the long time hindered the implementation of "land reforms" in the state proactively which could have benefitted the [[Scheduled Caste]]s and the backwards. In the post Mandal phase [[Kurmi]], [[Kushwaha|Koeri]] and [[Yadav]], the three backward castes who constitute the upper-[[Other Backward Class|OBC]] due to their advantageous position in the socio-economic sphere of agrarian society became the new political elite of the state. One of the causes of this transformation was weakening of [[Indian National Congress]] in the state, which was dominated by upper-caste for long. The rising ''Kulaks'' from the upper-OBC rode on the [[Lok Dal]] political party for their emancipation and jostled with the erstwhile political elites, the upper-castes. According to Sanjay Kumar, after a long and protracted struggle the upper-caste accepted the leadership of OBCs during this phase.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVxODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT27|title= Post-Mandal Politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns|author= Sanjay Kumar|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|year=2018|
isbn=978-1843317098|accessdate=23 June 2022|pages=60–61}}</ref>
isbn=978-9352805860|pages=27–28|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
According to Sanjay Kumar, before the 1990s, the dominance of the upper castes such as Rajputs, Brahmins, Bhumihars and Kayasthas in Bihari society, politics, the judiciary and bureaucracy prevented the implementation of land reforms in the state, which could have helped [[Scheduled Caste]]s and [[Backward caste]]s. In the post-Mandal phase, [[Kurmi]], [[Kushwaha|Koeri]] and [[Yadav]], the three backward castes who constitute the upper-[[Other Backward Class|OBC]] due to their advantageous position in the socio-economic sphere of agrarian society, became the new political elite of the state. One of the causes of this change was weakening of the INC in the state, which was long-dominated by upper castes. The rising ''[[Kulak]]s'' from the upper-OBC supported the [[Lok Dal]] political party for their emancipation and jostled with the erstwhile political elites, the upper castes. According to Sanjay Kumar, after a long, protracted struggle, the upper castes accepted the leadership of OBCs during this phase.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVxODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT27|title= Post-Mandal Politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns|author= Sanjay Kumar|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|year=2018|
isbn=978-9352805860|pages=27–28|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref> <br />
In the recent decade, however, upper castes have returned to the power structure, holding prominent positions.<ref>{{Cite news|title= Upper-caste Polity|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-upper-caste-leaders-back-in-circulation-in-bihar/304876/amp|date=20 Aug 2021|publisher=Outlook}}</ref>
Some of the leaders of the community also played important roles in the [[Rashtriya Janata Dal]]-led government, which includes [[Raghuvansh Prasad Singh]], who conceptualised [[MNREGA]], the biggest anti-poverty scheme in India.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/face-behind-biggest-anti-poverty-scheme-how-rjd-sidelined-raghuvansh-prasad-amid-family-poll-game-2684857.html|title=Brain Behind The Biggest Anti-poverty Scheme, How RJD Sidelined Raghuvansh Prasad|editor=Sumit Pande|website=News18|accessdate=28 May 2022}}</ref> [[Radha Mohan Singh]] has been credited for the growth of the [[BJP]] in the state while being state chief from 2006 to 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/five-term-bjp-mp-radha-mohan-singh-finally-gets-his-reward/articleshow/35621831.cms |title=Radha Mohan Singh, East Champaran|website=Economic Times|date=26 May 2014}}</ref>
==Present circumstances==
==Present circumstances==
Rajputs of Bihar have been a socially dominant community, as they are fairly represented in the legislative assembly and legislative council of Bihar, despite risen hostility towards upper-castes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/978687/bihar-polls-32-charts-reveal-caste-gender-religious-and-criminal-composition-of-the-new-assembly |title= Composition of Bihar assembly|website=Scroll.in|date= 18 November 2020|access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref> This community also has largest representation in [[Lok Sabha]] and [[Rajya Sabha]] MPs from Bihar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/bihar/patna-read-caste-based-details-of-nda-candidate-from-loksabha-seats-of-bihar-bramk-1789621.html |title= Members of Parliament from Bihar|website=News18|date= 23 March 2019|access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref>
According to a report of Institute of human development studies, [[Brahmin]]s topped in average per capita income with Rs 28,093, the other upper castes of Bihar which comprises Rajputs have an average per capita income of Rs 20,655, closely followed by middle agrarian castes like [[Kushwaha]]s and [[Kurmi]]s earning Rs 18,811 and Rs 17,835 respectively as their average per capita income. In contrast, [[Yadav]]s’ income is one of the lowest among OBCs at Rs 12,314, which is slightly less than the rest of [[Other Backward Class|OBC]]s (Rs 12,617). Hence; despite the political mobilisation of backward castes in post mandal period, the Rajputs are still among the high income groups in Bihar. According to this report, the economic benefits of the [[Mandal Commission|Mandal politics]] could be seen as affecting only few backward castes of agrarian background leading to their upward mobilisation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bihar-elections-caste-obc-mandal-6929329/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122091426/https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bihar-elections-caste-obc-mandal-6929329/ |title=Lower castes in Bihar have got political power, not economic progress|editor1=[[Christophe Jaffrelot]]|editor2=Kalaiyarasan A|website=Indian Express|access-date=22 January 2021|archive-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
According to a report of Institute of Human Development Studies, [[Brahmin]]s topped the average per-capita income with Rs 28,093; Rajputs have an average per-capita income of Rs 20,655, closely followed by middle-agrarian castes such as [[Kushwaha]]s and [[Kurmis]], who earned Rs 18,811 and Rs 17,835, respectively, as their average per-capita income. In contrast, Yadavs’ income is one of the lowest among OBCs at Rs 12,314, which is slightly less than the rest of the OBCs at Rs 12,617. Despite the political mobilisation of backward castes in the post-Mandal period, Rajputs are still among the high-income groups in Bihar. According to this report, the economic benefits of the [[Mandal Commission|Mandal politics]] have not reached castes of agrarian background, leading to their upward mobility.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bihar-elections-caste-obc-mandal-6929329/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122091426/https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bihar-elections-caste-obc-mandal-6929329/ |title=Lower castes in Bihar have got political power, not economic progress|editor1=[[Christophe Jaffrelot]]|editor2=Kalaiyarasan A|website=Indian Express|date=4 November 2020 |access-date=22 January 2021|archive-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
==Kingdoms and chieftaincies founded by Rajputs in Bihar==
[[File:Sonbarsa Raj.JPG|thumb|The Palace of Sonbarsa Raj]]
* [[Sonbarsa Raj]] founded by [[Gandhavariya]] Rajputs in medieval period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhagwant Sahai |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283324 |title=The Journal Of The Bihar Puravid Parisad 1983 Vol. Vii And Viii |date=1984 |pages=414, 418}}</ref>
* [[Kharagpur Raj]] founded in the 16th century by [[Kinwar]] Rajputs<ref name="Ansari2019">{{cite book|author=Tahir Hussain Ansari|title=Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUueDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT22|date=20 June 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-00-065152-2|pages=22–28}}</ref>
* [[Namudag|Namudag Raj]] founded in the 16th century by the [[Gaur (clan)|Gaur rajput]],<ref name="Ansari2019"/>
* [[Gidhaur chieftaincy]] founded in the 14th century by [[Chandel (Rajput clan)|Chandel]] Rajputs<ref name="Ansari2019" />
* [[Jagdishpur estate|Jagdishpur Raj]] and [[Dumraon Raj]] founded by the [[Ujjainiya]] Rajputs<ref name="Ansari2019" />
* [[Deo Raj]] founded in the 15th century by Sisodia Rajputs in Bihar.<ref name="Prakash2003" />
* [[Ramgarh Raj]] in the [[Chhota Nagpur Plateau]] region.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hXYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |title=JHARKHAND SAMAGRA (Prabhat Prakashan) |date=2020-03-21 |publisher=Prabhat Prakashan |isbn=978-93-90101-16-0 |language=hi}}</ref>
==Notable people==
* [[Harihar Singh]] - 9th Chief Minister of Bihar<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Narain|first1=Jai Prakash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfIdAAAAMAAJ|title=A Revolutionary's Quest: Selected Writings of Jayaprakash Narayan|last2=Narayan|first2=Jayaprakash|date=1980|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-561204-2|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Kunwar Singh]] - Zamindar and Military commander who participated in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartwell |first1=Nicole |title=Framing colonial war loot: The 'captured' spolia opima of Kunwar Singh |journal=Journal of the History of Collections |date=2021 |doi=10.1093/jhc/fhab042 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
*[[Bhishma Narain Singh]] - he belongs to the [[Namudag|Namudag Raj]] and was former governor of the Assam.{{citation needed|date=February 2026}}
* [[Anugrah Narayan Sinha]] - Indian nationalist statesman known as ''Bihar''<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoP8AwAAQBAJ&q=anugrah+narayan+sinha+rajput&pg=PT192 | title=Agrarian Crisis in India: The Case of Bihar | publisher=University of Texas Press | date=2014 | access-date=6 January 2019 | author=F. Tomasson Jannuzi| isbn=9781477300145 }}</ref>
* [[Raja Narain Singh]] - Chieftain of the Seris and Kutumba estate in [[Aurangabad district, Bihar|Aurangabad district]] and participant in the [[1781 revolt in Bihar]]<ref name=Maharatna2012>{{cite journal | title=The Zamindars of Bihar: Their Resistance to Colonial Rule Between 1765-1781 | author= Paramita Maharatna | journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume = 73|year=2012 | pages= 1435|jstor = 44156363}}</ref>
* [[Gajpati Ujjainia]] - Commander in the army of the [[Sur Empire]] under [[Sher Shah Suri]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ansari |first1=Tahir Hussain |title=A Political Biography of an Ujjainia Chief of Bhojpur: Raja Gajpati |journal=Karatoya |date=2014 |volume=7 |pages=40–48 |url=http://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3840}}</ref>
* [[K.B.N. Singh]] - Chief Justice of Patna and Madras High Court, served as an acting Governor of Bihar. From the illustrious Kulharia Raj family.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-01-06 |title=B N Collegiate School has to live with dirt |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/b-n-collegiate-school-has-to-live-with-dirt/articleshow/1952875399.cms |access-date=2024-08-20 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
* [[Kamal Singh (politician)|Kamal Singh]] - Last Maharaja of Dumraon Raj([[Ujjainiya|Ujjainiya Rajput]]) and Member of Parliament.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maharaja Kamal Singh, last surviving member of first Lok Sabha, passes away at 94 |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/maharaja-kamal-singh-last-surviving-member-of-first-lok-sabha-passes-away-at-94 |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Digvijay Singh (Bihar politician)|Digvijay Singh]] - From the [[Gidhaur]] Royal family, Union Minister for several times.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=TNN|date=Jul 3, 2010 |title=Vasundhara visits Gidhaur, mourns Digvijay {{!}} Patna News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/vasundhara-visits-gidhaur-mourns-digvijay/articleshow/6122070.cms |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref>
* [[:hi:कलक्टर सिंह 'केसरी'|Collectar Singh "Kesari"]] - Poet and novelist from erstwhile Shahabad district.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-19 |title=कलक्टर सिंह केसरी ने हिंदी में प्रकृति राग गायन को किया समृद्ध |url=https://www.bhaskar.com/news/kalakant-singh-kesari-has-richly-promoted-sanskrit-choral-singing-in-hindi-051541-2758387.html |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=Dainik Bhaskar |language=hi}}</ref>
* [[R. K. Singh]] - Union minister of Power and Renewable energy from bhojpur.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-03 |title=Who is Raj Kumar Singh? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-raj-kumar-singh/ |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Arvind Kumar Singh (Jharkhand politician)|Malkhan Singh]] - Several times MLA from Jamshedpur.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Heavyweight ticket aspirants put JMM in a fix in Jamshedpur - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jamshedpur/heavyweight-ticket-aspirants-put-jmm-in-a-fix-in-jamshedpur/articleshow/68621505.cms |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=The Times of India|date=29 March 2019 }}</ref>
==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Rajputs]]
[[Category:Rajputs]]
[[Category:Titles in India]]
[[Category:Nicknames]]
[[Category:Indian feudalism]]
[[Category:Indian feudalism]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Hindu communities]]
Revision as of 17:36, 19 March 2026
Bihari Rajputs refers to the people of Rajput community of the eastern state Bihar and adjoining region of Uttar Pradesh.
Babu Saheb (or Babu Sahib) is a term or sobriquet[1] used mainly in the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh[2] and Jharkhand to describe members of the Rajput caste[3] who traditionally formed part of the royalty and feudal elite respectively.[4][5][6]
Legendary accounts state that from 1200 CE, many Rajput groups moved eastwards towards the Eastern Gangetic plains forming their own chieftaincies.[7] These minor Rajput kingdoms were dotted all over the Gangetic plains in modern-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.[8] During this process, petty clashes occurred with the local population and in some cases, alliances were formed.[7] Among these Rajput chieftaincies were the Bhojpur zamindars[9] and the taluks of Awadh.[10]
The immigration of Rajput clan chiefs into these parts of the Gangetic plains also contributed the agricultural appropriation of previously forested areas, especially in South Bihar.[11] Some have linked this eastwards expansion with the onset of Ghurid invasion in the West.[11]
From as early as the 16th century, Rajput soldiers from the eastern regions of Bihar and Awadh, were recruited as mercenaries for Rajputs in the west, particularly in the Malwa region.[12]
Kolff describes some of the Rajputs of Bihar, Awadh and Varanasi with the terminology "Pseudo Rajput" as they were regarded as Pseudo rajputs by their western counterparts. These eastern Rajput often accompanied the Rajput of Rajasthan in their battles with the hordes of their supporters.They led the band of warriors called Purbiyas in order to assist their western counterparts but were notorious for frequently changing their allegiance as Silhadi did in the Battle against Babur, when he deserted Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa leading to defeat of Rajput contingents and consolidation of Mughal empire in India.[13][14]
During the colonial period
The colonial period refers to period before 1947 when in the traditional agrarian society, the Rajputs of north Bihar controlled the agricultural production through the Zamindari rights. The upper caste which included Rajput, Yadav controlled land and some of these upper-castes were also recruited to the lower rung of administration under the British rulers. The Brahmins who were significant landholders were dominant in some regions while those who were poor were recruited as the lathails and tax assesse for agricultural lands and also as Peons. The castes like Kayasthas work in various departments like those of accounts while the middle peasant castes which included Koeri and Kurmi functioned as occupancy tenants. Some of the peasants from these caste who became prosperous acquired caste consciousness and if ill-treated by the upper-castes were likely to resort to physical violence in retaliation. The moneylenders primarily belong to Sonar and other mercantile castes. The Rajputs were more active in property holding but were less-literate as compared to other upper-castes and hence were less active in public administration.[15] Between 1900-1920, it was noted that Rajputs formed large chunk of the population of some of the region of south Bihar. In Shahabad region were they were most prominently present, it was recorded that they took little or no interest in intellectual pursuits. The literacy rate of the region and Bihar as a whole was also in precarious state.[16]
Dominance in feudal society
Records of the time indicates that the upper-caste Rajputs practiced Dola Pratha in some regions of Bihar and West Bengal, in which the newly wed bride of the Dalits and landless labourers (who worked for wages in their fields) had to spend one night with the landlord before commissioning of her nuptial rites.[17] The ground level reports including the discourse with the women of agricultural labourers families also indicates the various patterns of abuse in which they were forced to perform Begar ( unpaid menial work ) and faced undignified teasing like "pinching on breast" by the Rajput landlords. When these women rejected the landlord's proposal of sexual contact, it was common for the landlords to falsely implicate the male members of their families and their kins in criminal cases. In some of the villages in Bhojpur region of Bihar, the frequent rapes of Chamar and Dusadh women by their landlords in order to keep their men in submissive position was also prevalent. Besides sexual assaults, the drawing of water from the village wells and walking on the pathways alongside the landlords in Rajput villages were also forbidden for the lower castes.[18]
By the 1960s, most of the prevalent feudal practices came to an end due to the activism of Kisan Sabhas, the organization led by middle peasant castes who also brought the issues of women rights and dignity within its fold and allowed the agricultural labourer women to voice for themselves.[18]
The Rajputs also countered the upward mobility of some of the peasant castes, who by virtue of their economic prosperity sought higher status by wearing Janeu, a sacred thread or claimed Kshatriya status. The records indicates that during the tenure of Asaf-ud-Daula in Awadh, when a section of Awadhiya Kurmi were about to be bestowed with the title of Raja, the Rajput nobles of Asaf's court caused stiff opposition to the move despite the fact that the Rajputs themselves were newcomers to the court and were peasant-soldiers a few year before.[19]
In the words of historian Richard Barnett:
Ironically, the Rajput constituency of Awadh itself composed a “group of newcomers to the court, who had been peasant soldiers only a few years before. They were called, half sarcastically, the ‘Tilangi Rajas’ [or] ‘trooper rajas’—the people described by the shocked Muhammad Faiz Baksh as the new Nawab’s courtiers: ‘Naked rustics, whose fathers and brothers were with their own hands guiding the plow . . . , rode about as Asaf ud-daula’s orderlies.’”[19]
According to William Pinch :
...the Rajputs of Awadh, who along with brahmans constituted the main beneficiaries of what historian Richard Barnett characterizes as “Asaf’s permissive program of social mobility,” were not willing to let that mobility reach beyond certain arbitrary sociocultural boundaries.[19]
Politics
In pre 1990 period, the Rajputs along with Brahmin, Bhumihar and Kayastha dominated not only the social and political space of Bihar but also the judiciary and bureaucracy. It has been alleged that the upper-caste dominance for the long time hindered the implementation of "land reforms" in the state proactively which could have benefitted the Scheduled Castes and the backwards. In the post Mandal phase Kurmi, Koeri and Yadav, the three backward castes who constitute the upper-OBC due to their advantageous position in the socio-economic sphere of agrarian society became the new political elite of the state. One of the causes of this transformation was weakening of Indian National Congress in the state, which was dominated by upper-caste for long. The rising Kulaks from the upper-OBC rode on the Lok Dal political party for their emancipation and jostled with the erstwhile political elites, the upper-castes. According to Sanjay Kumar, after a long and protracted struggle the upper-caste accepted the leadership of OBCs during this phase.[20]
Present circumstances
According to a report of Institute of human development studies, Brahmins topped in average per capita income with Rs 28,093, the other upper castes of Bihar which comprises Rajputs have an average per capita income of Rs 20,655, closely followed by middle agrarian castes like Kushwahas and Kurmis earning Rs 18,811 and Rs 17,835 respectively as their average per capita income. In contrast, Yadavs’ income is one of the lowest among OBCs at Rs 12,314, which is slightly less than the rest of OBCs (Rs 12,617). Hence; despite the political mobilisation of backward castes in post mandal period, the Rajputs are still among the high income groups in Bihar. According to this report, the economic benefits of the Mandal politics could be seen as affecting only few backward castes of agrarian background leading to their upward mobilisation.[21]
