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ABSTRACT
In this paper, we reflect on the caste-violence perpetrated on lower castes by Bhumihars, one of the dominant castes in Bihar, India, as it indicates their complex relationship with important socio-economic and political issues such as land relations, identity assertion and socio-economic differentiation, among others. We also pay attention to ideological and moral constructs embedded in the narratives about Bhumihars, which provides legitimacy to their violence. Several narratives and personal interviews have been incorporated in our analysis along with a broader mapping of Bhumihars’ historical engagement with violence as a form of caste assertion and its changing character in the contemporary era marked by ‘backward-caste’ mobilisation and the rise of Hindu right-wing politics in Bihar. Our critical study traces these historical trajectories and points to a decisive shift from Bhumihars’ engagement with direct violence towards a more subtle and symbolic form of violence, often masquerading as their articulation and expression of caste identity.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 The overall electorate population of Bhumihars is estimated to have doubled from a lowly three per cent to a more telling six per cent (approx.) in Bihar.
2 In the early British censuses (1872–1922) Bhumihars were ranked below Brahmans in caste hierarchy, however thorough petitions and demands presented by Bhumihar caste associations to colonial authorities they were given status of ‘Bhumihar Brahman’ in the 1931 caste census.
3 The First Backward Classes Commission was established by a presidential order on 29 January, Citation1953 under the chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar, and submitted its report on 30 March, 1955. It had prepared a list of 2,399 backward castes or communities for the entire country, of which 837 had been classified as the ‘most backward’.
4 On Violence is an expanded version of ‘Reflections of violence’ originally published in 1969 in the Journal of International Affairs and reprinted in the New York Review of Books (17 February, 1969).
5 Lathaites is a colloquial substitute for the more commonly used Lathiwaale in Hindi. The word Lathait is also used to signify a powerful or brute man in Magahi, the language spoken in central region of Bihar.
6 Yadav is a pastoral caste; they are also called Ahir in Bihar and are the numerically most dominant caste. According to 1931 census they constituted 11 per cent of the Bihar population. Though classified as a low caste and categorised under OBC status, Yadavs in Bihar are one of the dominant castes in terms of landownership, numerical strength and representation in electoral politics.
7 The term ‘Backward Class movement’ is used to indicate the organised social and political mobilisation undertaken by the lower castes demanding increased political representation during the early twentieth century.
8 The source for the percentage of the castes mentioned here is the last recorded caste-census, ‘Census of India 1931’.
9 The percentages of the castes mentioned here are the approximations based on the Census of India 1931.
10 The Zamindari system was a land revenue collection system introduced by the British in 1793, where the landed gentry were entrusted with the duty of tax collection from the farmers. Widely criticised for its exploitative nature, the Zamindari system was abolished immediately after India’s independence.
11 The ‘family’ includes the cultivator and his or her spouse and minor children. Each adult son is counted as a separate unit and is entitled to hold a specified extent of land in his own right. The widow of a Hindu undivided family is given a separate unit (Jha, Citation2009, pp. 18–40).
12 According to a press report by The Hindustan Times (6 April, 1991), in the defence of the accused in Parasbigha massacre, Jagdish Sharma was dismissed before the court.
13 Please see: https://www.rediff.com/news/1999/feb/12bihar4.htm
14 Available at: https://pgurus.com/documents/Ch5-Upper-Caste-voting-trends-in-Bihar-and-the-road-ahead.pdf
15 Affirmative action (quotas in India) was targeted towards OBCs at the national level since 1991, and was a product of the second backward classes commissions report, popularly known as the ‘Mandal commission report,1989’.
16 Available at: https://www.news18.com/news/india/bihar-communal-clashes-how-ram-navami-procession-in-nalanda-lost-its-way-1705533.html
17 Available at: https://www.news18.com/news/immersive/truth-of-bihar-riots.html
18 The magazine Parashu expressing the anxieties and concerns of a Bhumihar is published by Janaki Prakashan, which has its office right outside the main gate of Patna University at Patna, Bihar.