162.158.227.140 at 15:10, 21 November 2022

2022-11-21T15:10:50Z

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{{short description|Private army in India (1970s-1990s)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox war faction
| name = Bhumi Sena
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| war = [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]]
| image =
| caption =
| active = 1982–1990
| position =
| leaders =
| clans =
| headquarters = [[Nalanda]], [[Bihar]]
| area = [[Nalanda]], [[ Jehanabad district |Jahanabad]], [[Patna]]
| size =
| partof =
| predecessor =
| successor = Bhumisena.org
| allies = [[Ranvir Sena]], [[Kuer Sena]] Now - None
| split =
| battles =
| website =
}}

'''Bhumi Sena''' was a private army which operated in the [[Patna]], [[Nalanda]], [[Jehanabad]], and [[Gaya district|Gaya]] regions of [[Bihar|Bihar, India]] in the 1980s, made up of members of the [[Kurmi]] caste.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/a-lasting-signature-on-bihar-s-most-violent-years/957421/2|title=A lasting signature on Bihar's most violent years - Indian Express|website=archive.indianexpress.com|access-date=2018-12-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30246093.ece|title=End of a terror trail|first=KALYAN|last=CHAUDHURI|website=Frontline|accessdate=2020-11-04}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Kunnath|first=George J.|date=2009|title=Smouldering Dalit fires in Bihar, India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29790891|journal=Dialectical Anthropology|volume=33|issue=3/4|pages=309–325|doi=10.1007/s10624-009-9134-5|jstor=29790891|s2cid=143443718|issn=0304-4092}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Kumar|first=Ashwani|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&q=mahavir+Mahto+formed+Bhumi+sena&pg=PA104|title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar|date=2008|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-709-8|location=|pages=107–108|language=en}}</ref>

==History==
Bhumi Sena was formed by Kurmi landowners in 1982, in response to the murders of a number of prominent landlords and political agitation among [[Dalit]] labourers by the leftist groups [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War|CPI (ML) People's War]], [[Central Organising Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Party Unity|CPI (ML) Party Unity]], and the [[Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti|MKSS]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1986|title=Agrarian Movement in Jehanabad|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4375648|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=21|issue=19|pages=813–815|jstor=4375648|issn=0012-9976}}</ref> Following its formation, the group gathered resources and arms from Kurmi households, and encouraged Kurmi youths to join.<ref name=":0" /> They continued to collect [[Protection racket|protection money]] from Kurmi families in the regions they were active in.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Bhumi Sena soon began to combat the leftist groups they opposed, with a series of attacks on Dalits and Maoist sympathisers, including those of the group’s own Kurmi caste. Between 1982 and 1985, the group killed 65 people, set 216 houses ablaze, and drove 325 families out of their villages.<ref name=":0" />

The leftist groups responded by killing Bhumi Sena members, and imposing an economic blockade on the Kurmi landlords supporting the group. This strategy found success in 1984, when leftist activists burned the Kurmi landlords' harvest. The landlords agreed to cease support of the group, and paid fines in proportion to their level of support.<ref name=":0" />

Bhumi Sena held increasingly limited influence throughout the latter half of the 1980s, amidst continued attack by leftist groups and a changing political landscape.<ref name=":1" />

== See also ==
* [[Ranvir Sena]]
* [[Kuer Sena]]
*[[List of caste based violence in Bihar]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Paramilitary organisations based in India]]
[[Category:Private armies]]
==External link==
*[https://publications.cpiml.net/book/report-from-the-flaming-fields-of-bihar-the-reactions/4-%E2%80%98private-armies-at-war%E2%80%99 Report from the flaming fields of Bihar.]

Bhumi Sena - Revision history

162.158.227.140 at 15:10, 21 November 2022