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Bahun | |
---|---|
Regions with significant populations | |
Nepal | 3,292,373 (11.2% of Nepal's population) (2021) [1] |
Languages | |
Nepali (Khas-Kura) | |
Religion | |
Hinduism 99.56% (2011), Christianity 0.31% (2011) [2] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Chhetri, Thakuri and other Khas people |
Bahun (Nepali : बाहुन), also known as Hill Brahmins, [3] are a Brahmin varna among the Khas of Nepal. They are a sub-caste of the Kanyakubja Brahmin [4] [5] [6] while their origins are from Kannauj [7] and the Himalayan belt of South Asia. According to the 2011 Nepal census, Bahun is the second most populous group after Chhetri. [8]
According to 1854 Muluki Ain, the first Nepalese civil code, Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (Tagadhari) and twice-born Hindus. [9]
Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together Chhetris. [10] Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Brahmins and Khas Kshatriyas [11] had high social status in the present-day western Nepal. [10] Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with Chhetris, were associated mostly with the Gorkha Kingdom and its expansion. [12] [12] [13]
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). [14] Bahun are the second largest Hindu group in Nepal with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns). [14] 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%). [14]
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. [15] 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. [16] 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. [17]
According to the 2021 Nepal census, 3,292,373 people (11.29%) of the population of Nepal are Bahun (Hill Brahmins). [18] 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:
Biratnagar is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Koshi Province. With a Metropolitan Urban Agglomeration population of 244,750 as per the 2021 census, it is the largest city and fastest growing city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the preliminary report of 2022 Nepal census, Biratnagar Metropolitan has an estimated city population of 243,927 excluding the suburban areas which are now very well connected to the old town. It is the administrative center of the Greater Birat Development Area which incorporates the cities of Biratnagar and its suburbs and towns of-Itahari-Gothgau-Biratchowk-Dharan primarily located on the Koshi Highway in Eastern Nepal, with an estimated total urban agglomerated population of 804,300 people in 159,332 households including the town of Ithari. Biratnagar is located 399 km (248 mi) east of the capital, Kathmandu, and 6 km (3.7 mi) north of the bordering town of Jogbani in the Indian state of Bihar. It is one of the major entry point in Nepal for Businessmen as well as Tourists who come to visit Nepal for various purposes.
Khas peoples or Khas Tribes, popularly known as Khashya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, in what is now the South Asian country of Nepal, as well as the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Sikkim. Khas consists of many subtribes like Kshetri, Thakuri, Bahun, khas dalit and Sanyasis and all spread across the Himalayas.
Chhetri, historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speaking Rajputs historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of whom trace their origin to migration from medieval India. Chhetri was a caste of administrators, governors, warriors and military elites in the medieval Khas Kingdom and Gorkha Kingdom. The nobility of the Gorkha Kingdom mainly originated from Chhetri families. They also had a strong presence in civil administration affairs. The bulk of prime ministers of Nepal before the democratization of Nepal belonged to this caste as a result of the old Gorkhali aristocracy. Gorkha-based aristocratic Chhetri families included the Pande dynasty, the Basnyat dynasty, the Kunwar family and the Thapa dynasty.
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