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The Backward Caste movement in Bihar can be traced back to the formation of Triveni Sangh, a caste coalition and political party, in the 1930s, which was revived after the introduction of land reforms in the 1950s aimed at removing intermediaries from agrarian society. But, this drive could not succeed in bringing long-lasting changes in the condition of lower strata of society, as they lacked political representation and economic power. The period since land reform included caste conflicts and the class struggle which eventually led to a transfer of absolute political power in the hands of Backward Castes, who had been kept away from it earlier. The class struggle succeeded the struggle of some of the Upper Backward Castes against the sacerdotal authorities for improvement in their ritual status. By the 1990s, the conflict between upper-castes and the lower-castes continued, with nearly 17 massacres taking place during this time period. But with the advent of politics of social justice and the Janata Dal in the 1990s, the lower caste became more active politically.
The Upper Backward Caste is a term used to describe the middle castes in Bihar, whose social and ritual status was not very low and which has traditionally been involved in the agricultural and animal husbandry related activities in the past. They have also been involved in low scale trade to some extent. The Koeri, Kurmi, Yadav and Bania are categorised as the upper-backwards amongst the Other Backward Class group; while the various other caste groups which constitutes the OBC, a group comprising 51% of the population of state of Bihar, has been classified as lower backwards. The upper-backwards also called upper OBC represents approximately 20.3% of the population of Bihar. These agricultural caste were the biggest beneficiaries of the land reform drive which was undertaken in the 1950s in the state and they strengthened their economic position by gaining a significant portion of excess land under the ceiling laws, which prohibited the ownership of land above a certain ceiling.
Dalits in Bihar are a social group composed of many Scheduled Castes, placed at the bottom of the "caste-based social order". The Dalits also include some of the erstwhile untouchable castes, who suffered various forms of oppression in the feudal-agrarian society of Bihar. Some of the Dalit castes have specific cultural practices, which differ from those of orthodox Hinduism.
References
- ↑ Rajesh Kumar Nayak (2012). "Naxalism, Private caste based-militias and Rural Violence in Central Bihar". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 73: 1303–1312. JSTOR 44156331.
- ↑ Smita Narula; Human Rights Watch (Organization) (1999). Broken People: Caste Violence Against India's "untouchables". Human Rights Watch. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-1-56432-228-9.
- ↑ Gupta, Smita (15 October 2007). "Pinned Lynch". Outlook. PTI. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ↑ Anil Dutta Mishra (2002). Rediscovering Gandhi. Mittal Publications. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-81-7099-836-5.
- ↑ "DM's killer Anand Mohan is Robinhood for Bihar villagers". Reddif. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ↑ "Election Special: पूर्णिया का रंगबाज़ पप्पू यादव, जिसे रोकने के लिए लालू को बुलानी पड़ी BSF". Zee News. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- ↑ CHAUDHURI, KALYAN (13 September 2002). "End of a terror trail". Frontline. Retrieved 4 November 2020.