Yadavs in Bihar refers to the people of
Yadav community of the Indian state of
Bihar.[1][2] They are also known as
Ahir,[3]Gope, etc.[4][5] The
Yadavs form nearly 14.26 % of the state's population and are included in the
Other Backward Class category in the
Bihar state of
India.[6] Ahirs are among the land owning caste in the plains of Bihar.[7]
Origin and history
Origin
The Yadavs or Ahirs are descended of lord
Krishna of ancient Yadu tribe.[8] Ahirs found in Bihar are said to have migrated from the plain of
Kachchh,
Kathiavad, west
Rajasthan and
Braj region.[9]
In
Bihar, there were many zamindars belonging to
Yadav (Ahir) community.[11] These
zamindars belonged to the difficult geographical regions, mostly diara land of the rivers. In the diara regions their rule continued with the help of their militia.[12][11] The Ahir zamindars were predominantly found in northern and eastern parts of Bihar.[13][14]
At one time the main occupation of the Yadavs of Bihar was rearing cattle, but now most of them are cultivator.[28] While majority of Yadavs were peasants with minor landholdings in the Northern and Central parts of
India, a few Yadavs had taken over large tract of land in the newly reclaimed portion of Eastern Bihar (
Purnea and
Saharsa) and had become big landholders.[29]
Subdivision
There are four main sub-castes of Ahirs in Bihar,
Kishnaut,
Majhraut, Kannaujia or Kanyakubja[30] and Goria.[31][32] Among them the first three never sell either milk, ghee or butter, and have, to a large extent, became cultivator and participate as a soldier in army
.[33]
Title
The titles generally used by the Yadav or
Ahirs community in Bihar are Rai/
Roy,
Chaudhary,
Gope, Mandal,
Singh, Raut, Bhagat etc.
Culture
Caste deities
In
Kosi division of Bihar, people of the Yadav/
Ahir caste worship their caste deity Bisu Raut, whose temple is situated on the banks of the Gogri river.[34][35]
Lorikayan is sung by Yadav/
Ahir community of
Bihar, it is a folk song of veer rasa where events from the life of Lorik, a
Ahir hero are described. This epic is more popular in
Bhojpuri,
Maithili and
Magahi.[39][40]
Politics
Around 1933–1934, the Yadavs joined with the Kurmis and Koeris to form the
Triveni Sangh, a caste federation that by 1936 claimed to have a million supporters. This coalition followed an alliance for the 1930 local elections which fared badly at the polls. The new grouping had little electoral success: it won a few seats in the 1937 elections but was stymied by a two-pronged opposition which saw the rival
Congress wooing some of its more wealthy leading lights to a newly formed unit called the "Backward Class Federation" and an effective opposition from upper castes organised to keep the lower castes in their customary place. Added to this, the three putatively allied castes were unable to set aside their communal rivalries and the Triveni Sangh also faced competition from the
All India Kisan Sabha, a peasant-oriented socio-political campaigning group run by the Communists. The appeal of the Triveni Sangh had waned significantly by 1947[41][42] but had achieved a measure of success away from the ballot box, notably by exerting sufficient influence to bring an end to the
begar system of forced unpaid labour and by providing a platform for those voices seeking reservation of jobs in government for people who were not upper castes.[43] Many years later, in 1965, there was an abortive attempt to revive the defunct federation.[44]
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.[45]