Bhumihar

From Freepedia

Image:Stop hand.png

The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

Bhumihar is the name of a Hindu jati (caste) who have traditionally resided in fertile regions of Indo-Gangetic plains of North India, mostly in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. The word Bhumihar consists of two Hindi words, bhumi, meaning 'land' and ahaar, meaning, 'food' - and, therefore, the literal meaning of Bhumihar is 'one who earns his/ her living from the land'.

Contents 1 History 2 Social customs 3 Famous Bhumihars 4 Further reading

History

In the context of mythological perspective, Bhumihars have traditionally identified themselves with Parashuram, who is beleived to have killed all the Kshatriyas from the earth twenty-one times. The descendants and associates of Parshuram are called Bhumihars. A new school of thought call Bhumihars as Brahmarishi.

During the British Raj, Bhumihars have found references in certain writings (in the late-19th century by Francis Buchanan and William Adam.

Social customs

Marriage of people of this community, like most of other social groups and castes of India, is restricted to members of their own caste. They also associate themselves with other castes including Mohyals in Punjab, Tyagis in Uttar Pradesh, and some other social groups of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Famous Bhumihars

• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
• Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

Further reading

• The Bhumihars:Caste of eastern India (ISBN 8186208372), published 2005 by Raj Publishing House, Jaipur, India.