Bahun Explained

Group:Khas Bahun
Native Name:Bahun
Region1: Nepal
Pop1:3,292,373 (11.2% of Nepal's population) (2021)[1]
Languages:Nepali (Khas-Kura)
Religions:Hinduism 99.56% (2011), Christianity 0.31% (2011)[2]
Related: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]

According to 1854 Muluki Ain, the first Nepalese civil code, Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (Tagadhari) and twice-born Hindus.

Origin

See also: Khas people. Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together Chhetris. Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Brahmins and Khas Kshatriyas had high social status in the present-day western Nepal. Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with Chhetris, were associated mostly with the Gorkha Kingdom and its expansion.[9]

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).[10] Bahun are the second largest Hindu group in Nepal with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns).[10] 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%).[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

Geographic distribution

According to the 2021 Nepal census, 3,292,373 people (11.29%) of the population of Nepal are Bahun (Hill Brahmins).[14] 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:

Notable people

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See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. 2021 . National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report . National Statistics Office . Government of Nepal .
  2. 2014 . Population monograph of Nepal . II . Central Bureau of Statistics . Government of Nepal .
  3. Book: Oberst . Robert . Government and Politics in South Asia, Student Economy Edition . 27 April 2018 . Routledge . 978-0-429-97340-6 . 284 .
  4. Book: Declan Quigley, David Gellner . Contested Hierarchies: A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste Among the Newars of Kathmandu. edited by David Gellner & Declan Quigley . 199. 2017 . Macmillan and Company limited. en.
  5. Book: Chaturvedi, Shyam lal . 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 . 65. 1945. en.
  6. Book: Hachhethu, Krishna . Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal. 40. 2023. en.
  7. Book: Hachhethu, Krishna . Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal. 40. 2023. en.
  8. Web site: Nepal Census 2011.
  9. Web site: Nepal -.
  10. Web site: Nepal Census 2011. 26 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170918043750/http://cbs.gov.np/image/data/Population/Population%20Monograph%20of%20Nepal%202014/Population%20Monograph%20V02.pdf. 18 September 2017. dead.
  11. News: Amit. Dhakal. निजामती सेवामा सबैभन्दा बढी प्रतिनिधित्व राजपूत, कायस्थ र तराई ब्राम्हण. 11 June 2014. Setopati.
  12. Web site: Brahmins and Chhetris land most government jobs. kathmandupost.com.
  13. Web site: Brahmins and Chhetris continue to dominate entry into civil service. kathmandupost.com.
  14. 2021 . National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report . National Statistics Office . Government of Nepal .
  15. [Chabilal Upadhyaya|Chabilal Upadhyaya - Wikipedia]
  16. Book: Raj, Prakash A. . Dancing Democracy: The power of a Third Eye . Rupa & Company . 2006 . 9788129109460.
  17. News: 23 March 2010 . Girija Prasad Koirala: The architect of democracy in Nepal . Dawn . 13 December 2017.
  18. Book: Westminster legacies . UNSW Press . 2005 . 978-0-86840-848-4 . 15 May 2009.
  19. News: 7 March 2011 . Flight of a free bird . My Republica . 13 December 2017.
  20. News: Goldenberg . Suzanne . 4 May 1999 . Man Mohan Adhikari . The Guardian . 13 December 2017.
  21. News: CPN Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal elected as 39th Prime Minister of Nepal . Xinhuanet . dead . 13 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160805025844/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/03/c_135561309.htm . 5 August 2016.
  22. News: Prachanda elected Prime Minister of Nepal . The Hindu . 13 December 2017.
  23. News: CPN-UML Comrades Apart . Spotlight Nepal Magazine . 13 December 2017.
  24. News: 16 January 2009 . Caste no bar . Nepali Times . 12 February 2018.