Zamindars of Bihar
Social group of Bihar / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Zamindars of Bihar were the autonomous and semi-autonomous rulers and administrators of the Mughal subah of Bihar and later during British rule. The zamindars of Bihar were numerous and could be divided into small, medium and large depending on how much land they controlled.[1] Within Bihar, the zamindars had both economic and military power. Each zamindari would have their own standing army which was typically composed of their own clansmen.[2]
The majority of these zamindars usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities such as Rajputs, Maithil Brahmins, Bhumihars, Kayasthas or Muslims.[3] Most of the zamindars and the intermediary tenure holders were Bhumihar and Rajput, though Brahmin, Kayastha, Ahir, Bania, Kurmi and Muslim zamindars were also there.[4]
The Forward Caste Zamindars also participated in the politics of state of Bihar, and had significant presence in politics in the first few decades of independence. However, since 1970, they started losing this presence and according to DM Diwakar, former Director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, they were converted into "silent onlookers" by 2020, amidst assertion of Backward Castes and Dalits.[5] Bihar's land reform drive of 1950s led to liquidation of the large landholdings of the big landlords. In the wake of this change, many well to do peasant communities started increasing their landholdings at the cost of big Zamindars. Although, the benefits of these reforms weren't percolated down to the lowest strata of Bihar's society, the Schedule Castes, many new landlords of the post reform period hailed from groups such as Koeri, Kurmi and Yadav caste of Bihar.[6]