Bahun

Last updated

Khas Bahun
Bahun
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Nepal.svg    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 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]

Contents

According to 1854 Muluki Ain (Nepalese Legal Code), Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (Tagadhari) and twice-born Hindus. [9]

Origin

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]

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). [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]

Geographic distribution

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:

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References

  1. ↑ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  2. ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (2014). Population monograph of Nepal (PDF) (Report). Vol. II. Government of Nepal.
  3. ↑ Oberst, Robert (27 April 2018). Government and Politics in South Asia, Student Economy Edition. Routledge. p. 284. ISBN   978-0-429-97340-6.
  4. ↑ Declan Quigley, David Gellner (2017). Contested Hierarchies: A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste Among the Newars of Kathmandu. edited by David Gellner & Declan Quigley. Macmillan and Company limited. p. 199.
  5. ↑ Chaturvedi, Shyam lal (1945). 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. p. 65.
  6. ↑ Hachhethu, Krishna (2023). Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal. p. 40.
  7. ↑ Hachhethu, Krishna (2023). Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal. p. 40.
  8. ↑ "Nepal Census 2011" (PDF).
  9. ↑ Sherchan 2001, p. 14.
  10. 1 2 John T Hitchcock 1978, pp. 116–119.
  11. ↑ John T Hitchcock 1978, p. 116.
  12. 1 2 Whelpton 2005, p. 31.
  13. ↑ "Nepal -".
  14. 1 2 3 "Nepal Census 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Dhakal, Amit (11 June 2014). "निजामती सेवामा सबैभन्दा बढी प्रतिनिधित्व राजपूत, कायस्थ र तराई ब्राम्हण". Setopati.
  16. ↑ "Brahmins and Chhetris land most government jobs". kathmandupost.com.
  17. ↑ "Brahmins and Chhetris continue to dominate entry into civil service". kathmandupost.com.
  18. ↑ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  19. ↑ Chabilal Upadhyaya - Wikipedia
  20. ↑ Raj, Prakash A. (2006). Dancing Democracy: The power of a Third Eye. Rupa & Company. ISBN   9788129109460.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Girija Prasad Koirala: The architect of democracy in Nepal". Dawn. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  22. ↑ Westminster legacies. UNSW Press. 2005. ISBN   978-0-86840-848-4 . Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  23. ↑ "Flight of a free bird". My Republica. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  24. ↑ Goldenberg, Suzanne (4 May 1999). "Man Mohan Adhikari". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  25. ↑ "CPN Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal elected as 39th Prime Minister of Nepal". Xinhuanet. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  26. ↑ "Prachanda elected Prime Minister of Nepal". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "CPN-UML Comrades Apart". Spotlight Nepal Magazine. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  28. ↑ "Caste no bar". Nepali Times. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

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