Szeeshan896 at 15:53, 10 September 2025

2025-09-10T15:53:58Z

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{{Short description|Poorest social groups within the Dalits}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
'''Mahadalit''' is a term which was coined in 2007 by the government of [[Bihar]] for the poorest social groups within the [[Dalit]]s<ref name="UoO">{{cite web |website=[[University of Oxford]] |title=Compliance or Defiance? The Case of Dalits and Mahadalits |first=George |last=Kunnath |year=2013 |page=36–59 |url=https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/anthro/documents/media/jaso5_1_2013_36_59.pdf |s2cid=35045790 |access-date=14 December 2020 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721063740/https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/anthro/documents/media/jaso5_1_2013_36_59.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{rp|38}} another called Aazad people who are original inhabitants of South Asian sub-continent. However, the term "Mahadalit" is not a part of the Indian constitutional terminology.<ref>{{cite news |title=Explained: Who are Mahadalits? |url=https://indianexpress.com/elections/bihar-elections-who-are-mahadalits-nitish-kumar-6800849/ |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |place=New Delhi, India |date=20 October 2020 |accessdate=10 January 2021}}</ref>

==Composition==
The [[Nitish Kumar]]-led [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|NDA]] government in Bihar set up the [[State Mahadalit Commission, Bihar|State Mahadalit Commission]] in 2007 to recommend inclusion of extremely weaker castes amongst the Scheduled Castes in the Mahadalit category.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mahadalitmission.org/BMVM-about-us-list.php |title=List of Mahadalits - Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission |publisher=Mahadalitmission.org |date= |accessdate=2016-10-18 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224050643/https://mahadalitmission.org/BMVM-about-us-list.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The commission has recognized Bihar's 21 [[Scheduled Castes]] out of the state's total 22 Scheduled Castes as the Mahadalits.<ref name="UoO"/>{{rp|38}}

==Demographics and occupation==
The Dalits form over 15% of the population of Bihar,<ref name="UoO"/>{{rp|38}} and the Mahadalits form around 10% of the state's population.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=76 |year=2015 |pages=969–975 |publisher=[[Indian History Congress]] |place=India |title=Decoding the Political Narratives of Bihar in Terms of Caste Identity as Seen the Election of 2015 |first1=Jayant |last1=Kumar |first2=Kala |last2=Bakhala |jstor=44156668}}</ref>{{rp|971}} According to Mithilesh Kumar, the Mahadalits do not own land and work as [[Sharecropping|sharecroppers]] on the farms of the [[Yadav]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Government of Peace: Social Governance, Security and the Problematic of Peace |edition=reprint |editor-first=Ranabir |editor-last=Samaddar |orig-year=First published 2015 |year=2016 |page=204 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |place=New York; Oxford |chapter=Governing Flood, Migration, and Conflict in North Bihar |first=Mithilesh |last=Kumar |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ew2rCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |isbn=978-1317125389 |quote=Most Yadavs are peasants (with holdings ranging from 2–4 ''bighas'') and the Mahadalits are landless labourers or sharecroppers on their fields.}}</ref>

==Politics==
During the [[2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election|election year of 2010]], Nitish Kumar launched a slew of government schemes to woo mahadalit voters. Nitish said, "My aim is to see the social, economic and political growth of certain castes who need a special campaign for their overall development."<ref name=t>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Politics-hots-up-to-woo-Mahadalits/articleshow/5431541.cms |title=Politics hots up to woo Mahadalits - Times of India |publisher=Timesofindia.indiatimes.com |date=2010-01-11 |accessdate=2016-10-18}}</ref> The Mahadalit status entails benefits of over a dozen government welfare schemes including free land to the landless.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/all-dalits-now-mahadalits-question-is-whos-their-leader/ |title=All Dalits now Mahadalits, question is who’s their leader |publisher=The Indian Express |date=2015-02-16 |accessdate=2016-10-18}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Dalit]]
[[Category:Politics of Bihar]]
[[Category:Reservation in India]]

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Mahadalit - Revision history

Szeeshan896 at 15:53, 10 September 2025