Chakrapani

I donot know what happened, as I couldnot complete my earlier writup.So let us first concentrate on the word 'Bhumi'.This word means land,earth etc,sometimes as country/area e.g.Matribhumi,Karmabhumi etc.Then we have Singhbhumi,Manbhumi,Birbhum,Dhalbhum etc.Here,the word Bhumi has been used as administrative units,zamindari areas etc.Here the word has similar meaning as the word 'Khand'like Bundelkhand,Baghelkhand,Jharkhand etc. In Orissa we have words like 'Bhanj',like 'Mayur Bhanj'.Perhaps in Bengal-Bihar region the word 'Bhumi' was used for such administrative or revenue units like Taluka or Jagir etc.Hence, the word 'Bhumihar' originally might have meant Jagirdars or Talukdars etc.This meaning appears to be correct as a large number of Zamindars in Bihar were Bhumihars.Further,let us examin who were the original Brahmans of Bihar.Kanyakubjs came from Kannuase.Sarayuparins also came from UP(North of Sarayu).Shakdwipis perhaps from western part of the country(infact, in ancient times the region bordering Iran,Afganistan & Balochistan was known as Shakdwip and they were renowned as Sun worshipers).Only Maithil Brahmins belonged to Bihar.But Mithila forms a small segment of Bihar.What happened to the Brahmins of other parts of Bihar? Same is the case of Rajput Kshatriyas.Some are Ujjainias,some are Chandels, some are Chauhans etc.They all came from western parts of the country;that is from western UP,MP,Rajsthan etc.They all migrated to Bihar during the invasion of Turko-Afgans and generally settled in those areas of Bihar which were not developed then.These areas were either covered with dense forest or water logged.They developed the land and settled there.Then what happened to the Rajputs of Bihar?.So we find that at certain period of time Bihar was not having any Rajput family nor Brahmins.Instead we find that there was a group of people called Bhumihars.Perhaps they are the only Savarna cast who were original Biharis.In this connection it may be noted that Bhumihars are mostly settled in those areas which developed in ancient times;such as Magadh,Kashi Vaishali etc.Due to advent of Bhudhism in Bihar a large section of Bihari population adopted Budhism.Due to this Priestly class of Bihar suffered heavily and searched for more secular livelyhoods like farming.Bhudhist rulers also perhaps donated large amount of land to keep them happy.Some might have become officials of the state.Perhaps most of the rulers who were Bhudhists earlier converted to Islam later on.Hinduism again came into prominence during the rule of Karnat dynasty in Bihar and Sen dynasty of Bengal.They were the successors of Pals who ruled earlier.Perhaps Bhumihars came in to prominence during this period and Brahmins were invited from Kanyakubj etc to reintrocuce Hinduism during this period.Bhumihars collaborated with the new rulers and were suitably rewarded by these rulers.However,new migrant Brahmans settled as a separate cast and Bhumihars also confined among themselves as there profession and economic status differed from other Brahmans.Thanks posted to Bhumihars. at Fri Dec 23 10:34:43 EST 2005 by Chakrapani.