Bhumihar’s History II

In 1889, Pradhan Bhumihar Brahman Sabha was established at Patna “to improve moral, social and educational reforms of the community.” The social reformation among Bhumihar Brahmins had two streams — one led by Sir Ganesh Dutt, and the other by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. Bhumihars were officially recognized as Brahmins by the government of British India in 1911 census (second all India census report) of British India.

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, a Bhumihar himself, wrote extensively on Brahmin society and on the origin of Bhumihars. He stated that the Bhumihars are among the superior Brahmins. Some Bhumihar Brahmins are also known for their secular and unorthodox practices, where some of them are also descendants of Hussaini Brahmins. On the social scale, although the Bhumihars are known to be Brahmins, on account of the fact that they were cultivators they were not given the ritual status of Brahmins.

Siyaram Tiwary, the former dean at Visva Bharati University, stated that the Bhumihars are “landed Brahmins who stopped taking alms and performing pujas and rituals”, comparing them with Tyagis of Western UP, Jamindar Bengali Brahmins, Niyogi Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh, Nambudiri Brahmin of Kerala, Chitpavans of Maharashtra, Anavil Desais of Gujarat and Mohyals of Punjab. Bhumihars are classified in the Brahmin varna in Hinduism and hence use the designation Bhumihar Brahmin, but some other communities dispute this claim.

Acharya Tarineesh Jha, himself a Maithil Brahmin scholar has attested how from ancient times to modern all great Brahmin scholars like Maithili Manishi Mahamahopadhyay Chitradhar Mishra, Mahamahopadhyay Balkrishna Mishra; Saryupareen Brahmin scholars Mahamahopadhyay Dwivedi, Mahamahopadhyay Shivkumar Shastri, Dr. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi; Kanyakubja Brahmins scholars Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, Pandit Laxminarayan Dixit Shastri, Pandit Venkatesh Narayan Tiwari and others have mentioned about Bhumihar Brahmins as their fellow Brahmin brothers.

They are also called Ajachak Brahmans, i.e., Brahmans who do not take alms (jachak) in contrast to the ordinary Brahmans who are Jachaks or almstakers but there are still some who traditionally take alms as in Gaya and Hazaribagh. Like fellow Brahmans, they did not use to hold the plough, but employed labourers for the purpose.