Bhumihar
Sign in to saveAlso known as Babhan, Maalik, Babu
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
12 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Varna status
- Sanskritisation
- Political influence
- Socio-economic condition
- Influence in other fields
- Customs and traditions
- Common surnames
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, is a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.
They have traditionally been a land-owning group of eastern India, and controlled some small princely states and zamindari estates in the region in the early 20th century. They played an important role in the peasant movements and politics of Bihar. They claim Brahmin status, although their varna has been subject to much debate.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bhumihar” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.