Bahun

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Bahun (Template:Langx), also known as Hill Brahmins,[1] are a Brahmin varna among the Khas of Nepal. They are a sub-caste of the Kanyakubja Brahmin[2][3][4] while their origins are from Kannauj[5]Template:Disputed inline and the Himalayan belt of South Asia. According to the 2011 Nepal census, Bahun is the second most populous group after Chhetri.[6]

According to 1854 Muluki Ain, the first Nepalese civil code, Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (Tagadhari) and twice-born Hindus.Template:Sfn

Origin

Template:See Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together Chhetris.Template:Sfn Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Brahmins and Khas KshatriyasTemplate:Sfn had high social status in the present-day western Nepal.Template:Sfn Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with Chhetris, were associated mostly with the Gorkha Kingdom and its expansion.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn[7]

There appears to be general agreement in historical records and family genealogy that Hill Brahmins (both Purbia and Kumai Bahuns) migrated from the Gangetic Plains to the western Himalayas then from there to the eastern Himalayas including Nepal. Nepali historians have claimed that Hill Brahmins entered the Himalayan region from Kannauj.[8] According to Acharya Bamsavali, Bahuns have migrated from Kanyakubja to Jumla in Nepal.[9]

Demography

According to the 2011 Nepal census, Bahuns (referred as Hill-Brahmin) are the second most populous group after Khas Chhetri with 12.2% of Nepal's population (or 3,226,903 people).[10] Bahun are the second largest Hindu group in Nepal with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns).[10] Bahuns are the largest group in 15 districts in Nepal: Jhapa, Morang, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kaski, Syangja, Parbat, Gulmi and Arghakhanchi. Among these, Bahuns in Parbat (35.7%), Arghakhanchi (32.8%), Dhading (30.9%), Chitwan (28.6%), Kaski (27.8%) and Gulmi (25.2%) consist more than 25% of the district population. Kathmandu has largest Bahun population with 410,126 people (23.5%).[10]

Bahuns have the highest civil service representation with 39.2% of Nepal's bureaucracy while having only 12.1% of Nepal's total population. The civil service representation to population ratio is 3.2 times for Bahuns which is fourth in Nepal. Khas Chhetris represent 1.6 times in civil services to their percentage of population, which is the highest in Nepal.[11] As per the Public Service Commission, Brahmins (33.3%) and Chhetris (20.01%) were two largest caste group to obtain governmental jobs in F.Y. 2017-18 even though 45% governmental seats are reserved for women, indigenous and ethnic minorities, Madhesis, dalits, people with disability and those from the backward regions.[12] Similarly, in the fiscal 2018–19, Bahuns (24.87%) and Chhetris (9.63%) maintained 35% of their proportion in civil service as per Public Service Commission.[13]

Geographic distribution

According to the 2021 Nepal census, 3,292,373 people (11.29%) of the population of Nepal are Bahun (Hill Brahmins).[14] The frequency of Bahun (Hill Brahmins) by province was as follows:

The frequency of Bahun (Hill Brahmins) was higher than national average (12.2%) in the following districts:

Notable people

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Government and Politics in South Asia, Student Economy Edition{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Routledge(27 April 2018). ISBN 978-0-429-97340-6
  2. ↑ Contested Hierarchies: A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste Among the Newars of Kathmandu. edited by David Gellner & Declan Quigley{{#if:Declan Quigley|, Declan Quigley}. Macmillan and Company limited(2017)
  3. ↑ In Fraternity with Nepal, An Account of the Activities Under the Auspices of the Wider Life Movement for the Furtherance and Consolidation of the Indo-Nepalese Cultural Fellowship{{#if:Chaturvedi|, Chaturvedi}(1945)
  4. ↑ Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal{{#if:Hachhethu|, Hachhethu}. Oxford University Press(2023). ISBN 978-0-19-887291-7
  5. ↑ Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal{{#if:Hachhethu|, Hachhethu}. Oxford University Press(2023). ISBN 978-0-19-887291-7
  6. ↑ Nepal Census 2011.
  7. ↑ Nepal -.
  8. ↑ Brahmins in Nepal{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Nabeen Publications(1996). ISBN 978-0-7855-7366-1
  9. ↑ Brahmins in Nepal{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Nabeen Publications(1996). ISBN 978-0-7855-7366-1
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Nepal Census 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  11. ↑ निजामती सेवामा सबैभन्दा बढी प्रतिनिधित्व राजपूत, कायस्थ र तराई ब्राम्हण. Setopati(11 June 2014). Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Brahmins and Chhetris land most government jobs. kathmandupost.com.
  13. ↑ Brahmins and Chhetris continue to dominate entry into civil service. kathmandupost.com.
  14. ↑ Template:Cite report
  15. ↑ Chabilal Upadhyaya - Bharatpedia
  16. ↑ Dancing Democracy: The power of a Third Eye{{#if:Raj|, Raj}. Rupa & Company(2006). ISBN 9788129109460
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Girija Prasad Koirala: The architect of democracy in Nepal. Dawn(23 March 2010). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  18. ↑ Westminster legacies{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. UNSW Press(2005). ISBN 978-0-86840-848-4
  19. ↑ Flight of a free bird. My Republica(7 March 2011). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  20. ↑ Man Mohan Adhikari. The Guardian(4 May 1999). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  21. ↑ CPN Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal elected as 39th Prime Minister of Nepal. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  22. ↑ Prachanda elected Prime Minister of Nepal. The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  23. ↑ CPN-UML Comrades Apart. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  24. ↑ Caste no bar(16 January 2009). Retrieved 12 February 2018.

Bibliography

  • Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Orient Blackswan(1991). ISBN 978-81-250-0188-1
  • Dynamics of a hill society: Nepalis in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas{{#if:Subba|, Subba}. Mittal Publications(1989). ISBN 9788173041143
  • Himalayan Anthropology: The Indo-Tibetan Interface{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Walter de Gruyter(1978). ISBN 978-90-279-7700-7
  • The Formation of the Concept of Nation-State in Nepal. The Journal of Asian Studies({Template:Year).
  • A History of Nepal{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Cambridge University Press(2005). ISBN 978-0521804707
  • Democracy, pluralism and Change: An Inquiry into Nepalese context{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Chhye Pahhuppe(2001). ISBN 9789993354390
  • Journal of Nepalese Literature, Art and Culture{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Royal Nepal Academy(2001)
  • Toward a History of the Brahmins. Journal of the American Oriental Society({Template:Year).

Template:Ethnic groups in Nepal Template:Brahmin communities

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