Mahto or Mahato is a surname used by several castes and communities in Nepal and the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha in India. [1] [2] [3]
Historically, Mahato was the hereditary title of the village headman, whose duties were to maintain peace in his area, and collect revenue for the zamindar . [2] [4] [2] In Bihar, the surname Mahto is also used by people belonging to Kushwaha caste. [5] [6] In Jharkhand, it is a term most often associated with Kurmi and Koiri caste. [7] [ need quotation to verify ]
The castes and communities that use Mahto, Mehto or Mahato as a surname, clan name or title include:
Notable people with the surname Mahto or Mahato include:
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a political party in the Indian state of Jharkhand which was founded by Binod Bihari Mahato. Shibu Soren is the president of the JMM. JMM is also an influential political party in the state of Odisha and parts of neighbouring of states. Its election symbol for Jharkhand is Bow and Arrow.
Siraha District, a district in Madhesh Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. It is situated in the Terai belt of Nepal. The district, with Siraha as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,188 km2 (459 sq mi). It has population of 637,328 according to census of 2011.The District is bordered with Saptari district in the east, Udayapur districting the north, Bihar state of India in the south and Dhanusa district in the west. Majority of the population here is yadav, Kushwaha(mahato),Tharus, Sahs(sahukar), Muslims and ethnic minorities with majority population speaking English, Maithili language and Nēpālī language.
Shri Krishna Singh (Sinha) (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the time of the first Congress Ministry in 1937 until his death in 1961. He led the Dalit entry into the Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar. He was the first chief minister in the country to abolish the zamindari system. He was imprisoned for a total of about eight years in British India. He held mass meetings at which he spoke. He was known as Bihar Kesari for his "lionlike roars" in public speaking.
Mandal, also spelled Mondal, is an honorific title that was used for local chieftains in present-day Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The title was usually hereditary and so, in modern times, the term is a common surname for both males and females.
Kushwaha is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain that has traditionally been involved in agriculture, including beekeeping. The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the Kachhis, Kachhvahas, Koeris and Muraos. The Kushwaha had worshipped Shiva and Shakta, but beginning in the 20th century, they claim descent from the Suryavansh (Solar) dynasty via Kusha, one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. At present, it is a broad community formed by coming together of several caste groups with similar occupational backgrounds and socio-economic status, who, over the time, started inter-marrying among themselves and created all India caste network for caste solidarity. The communities which merged into this caste cluster includes Kachhi, Kachhwaha, Kushwaha, Mali, Marrar, Saini, Sonkar, Murai, Shakya, Maurya, Koeri and Panara.
Loknath Mahato was a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the state of Jharkhand, India, elected from constituency Barkagaon which is in the Hazaribagh district of the state. He was first elected in 1995. Since then he has been re-elected three times, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the main national parties of India. He was one of the contenders in the 12 December 2019 Jharkhand state assembly elections from Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2014, Mahto had left BJP to join All Jharkhand Students Union, when denied ticket to contest from Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency. He participated in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and finished at third position.
The Koeri, also referred to as Kushwaha and more recently self-described as Maurya in several parts of northern India are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional occupation was agriculture. According to Arvind Narayan Das they were horticulturists rather than agriculturists. They are also recorded as performing the work of Mahajan in credit market of rural parts of Bihar and Bengal in 1880s. Koeris have attempted Sanskritisation— as part of social resurgence. During the British rule in India, Koeris were described as "agriculturalists" along with Kurmis and other cultivating castes. They are described as a dominant caste in various opinions.
Dalsinghsarai Assembly constituency was an assembly constituency in Samastipur district in the Indian state of Bihar.
Cheria-Bariarpur is an assembly constituency in Begusarai district in the Indian state of Bihar.
The Paswan, also known as Dusadh, are a Dalit community from eastern India. They are found mainly in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. The Urdu word Paswan means bodyguard or "one who defends". The origin of the word, per the belief of the community, lies in their participation in the battle against Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal at the behest of British East India Company, after which they were rewarded with the post of Chowkidars and lathi wielding tax collector for the Zamindars. They follow certain rituals such as walking on fire to assert their valour.
Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources and Development in the Government of India. Kushwaha is a former Member of Parliament (MP) from the Karakat constituency in Rohtas district, Bihar, and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the leader of Rashtriya Samata Party (RSP), his own party, which merged into Janata Dal (United) (JDU) in 2009. Later, he formed Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), which also merged with JD(U) in 2021. On 20 February 2023, Kushwaha resigned from all positions in Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party called Rashtriya Lok Morcha due to his political problems with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar. Kushwaha contested the Lok Sabha election of 2024 from Karakat constituency and finished at a distant third position. However, he was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in August 2024.
The Kudmi Mahato are a tribal community in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha of India. They are primarily agriculturalist.
Jawabipur is a Colony/Nagar in Sitamarhi Municipal Corporation of Sitamarhi District, in Bihar, India. It is administered by the Sitamarhi Nagar nigam Nagar Nigam of Tirhut Division. Some are the Localities/Landmark in Jawabipur are Durga Chowk, Shakya Chowk, Hanuman Chowk, Utkramit Madhya Vidhyalaya, Hanuman Mandir, Brahm Sthan, Maharani Sthan, Athani and Bholahiya. It is situated 7 km (4.3 mi) away from sub-district headquarter Dumra and 6 km (3.7 mi) away from district headquarter Sitamarhi. Maithili and Vajjika is the Local Language here. JDU, BJP, RJD, and INC are the major political parties in this area. Nearest cities are Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Patna and Motihari. Most residents from Jawabipur having surname Mahto, Kushwaha, Shakya, Singh, Paswan, Sharma and Ram. Kushwaha family from Jawabipur claim that they are descent from Emperor Ashoka. Samrat Ashoka the great belongs to the Maurya dynasty, which was one of the dynasties in ancient Indian history. Chandragupt Maurya was the founder of Maurya dynasty and the first emperor to unify most of the Indian subcontinent.
Jagdish Mahto was an Indian communist activist. He was a naxal leader who led the 1970 Bhojpur uprising in the landlord-dominated Bhojpur region of Bihar. He was a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), an organisation which was leading the Naxalite insurgency in Bihar. He also fought against the upper-caste landlords for the cause of lower-caste people. Mahto, also called Master Saheb, was a member of the Bihar State Committee of CPI(M–L) and one of the founding leaders of the party in Bhojpur.
Samrat Choudhary, also known by his alias Rakesh Kumar is an Indian politician, who is currently serving as Deputy Chief minister of Bihar under Nitish Kumar. He is a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been the party president of BJP Bihar State unit from March 2023 to 25 July 2024. He has also remained Member of Legislative Assembly and a minister in Government of Bihar in Rashtriya Janata Dal government. Chaudhary has been a former Vice President of BJP for the state of Bihar and currently elected for the second term as MLC in 2020 after his first term ended in 2019. In 2014, Samrat planned a split in Rashtriya Janata Dal by defecting thirteen MLAs as splinter group of the party, later joining the BJP. In 2022, he was selected as the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council. In 2024, he was also made the convener of Group of Ministers on Goods and Service Tax rate rationalisation panel.
Aklu Ram Mahto was an Indian politician from Jharkhand, who served as Minister for Finance and Institution in undivided Bihar. He was a member of Rashtriya Janata Dal, having served as important functionary in several other political parties in past. He was a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly via Bokaro constituency. He won the Bihar Assembly Election in 1995 securing 99,798 votes. Mahto won Vidhan Sabha elections in the year 1980 and 1995. He had contested Lok Sabha elections from Dhanbad on four occasions while from Giridih and Hazaribagh once. Mahto was also associated with the movement, which started on the question of including Manbhum in West Bengal. He was one of the prominent leader to voice support for the rights of displaced people, who needed rehabilitation after the establishment of Bokaro Steel Plant. For four decades, after coming into existence of Bokaro Assembly constituency in 1977, he remained pivotal in its politics.
Kushwaha is a surname used by people of Koeri caste in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Kushwahas are also known as Maurya, Shakya, or Saini in various parts of north India. As per one opinion, the Kushwaha surname is also common among members of Kachhi caste, who later merged with the Koeris to become a single homogeneous community. They are a dominant OBC community in the state of Bihar.
Dev Dyal Kushwaha was an Indian politician, who served as first agriculture minister for the state of Jharkhand, after its formation. He was appointed as Minister for Agriculture in first Jharkhand government, which was led by Babu Lal Marandi. Kushwaha was a leader of Bhartiya Janata Party, who represented Hazaribagh Sadar Assembly constituency as Member of Legislative Assembly for three times. Before joining active politics he was associated with pedagogy. Kushwaha won the assembly elections of 1990, 1995 and 2000 from Hazaribagh Assembly constituency. Besides, Babu Lal Marandi's cabinet, he also served as a minister in Arjun Munda's cabinet. In 2005 Jharkhand Assembly elections, he was defeated by Saurabh Narain Singh— the grandson of Kamakhya Narain Singh.
Ramdeo Mahto was an Indian politician, who served as Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly in undivided Bihar. Mahto was elected as a candidate of Bhartiya Jana Sangh to Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969 Assembly elections from Patna East Assembly constituency. He was also elected for his second term in Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1977 Bihar Assembly elections, this time, as a candidate of Janata Party. Mahto was considered one of the pillars of Bhartiya Jana Sangh in 1960s and he went on to become a minister from Jana Sangh quota in Mahamaya Prasad Sinha's government in 1967.
... the surname 'Mahto' was used by Dhanuks, Dusadhs, Goalas, Koeris, Sunris, Tharus, Dhobis, etc, and 'Raut' was used by Amats, Chamars, Dusadhs, Dhanuks, Goalas etc.
But a person having 'Mahato' surname may belong to any caste which is included in the prescribed...
Samrat Chaudhary has got the command of state BJP president in Bihar. People have started congratulating Samrat Chaudhary. Meanwhile, Rabri Devi, wife of former state CM and RJD chief Lalu Yadav, while taunting the BJP said that if the mind is filled with the Baniya people, then now the mind has to be filled with the Mahato people. Samrat Chaudhary comes from Kushwaha caste and people of Kushwaha caste also use Mahato surname.
Mahato, Bedia, and in a few cases, Majhi, are also used as surnames. The Bedia use Mahato, Majhi, Par gohit, Deshmondel as titles.