Cliapter4 - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/18863/12... · The social...
Transcript of Cliapter4 - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/18863/12... · The social...
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Cliapter4
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LAND, CASTE AND POWER IN BIHAR
Bihar rural economy is primarily characterized by land relations
and is centered on land. It provided the people their livelihood and it
remained the biggest source ofincome and earning. In past the entire
socio-economic structure was woven around land, and at present land is
still the most dominant mode through which the power and prestige is
acquired in the rural areas. After independence, with the abolition of
landlordism, the rise of rich peasantry has brought the middle social
stratum of society- the middle land based castes- to leading position in
the rural economy and in state politics. Some of the middle level
peasants occupy dominant position in the economic and political system
of the village. Now these middle castes aim at a greater share in power
politics, jobs, and educational institutions. A new social stratification
based on education, income and occupation is gradually taking shape.
Transfer of power to the upper backwards continued at the local level
along political line. There is a noticeable transfer of power in the
countryside to the backwards.
In 1891, the number of people engaged in agriculture was 61.24
percent. Even after such a long period, the situation has not been
changed. In a typical Bihar village, up to early years of twentieth century,
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the following socio-economic structure was existing. On the top was
usually a big zamindar, and below him were one or many intermediary
tenure holders. Under whom came occupancy and non-occupancy ryots.
Generally, occupancy ryots with larger landholdings sublet a part of their
holdings to sharecroppers of different varieties who were lumped together
as under ryots. The occupancy ryots, especially those belonged to four
upper castes relied on labourers for agricultural operations, partly or
fully, they themselves performed, only supervisory functions.
In most of the cases, the zamindars and intermediary tenure
holders were Bhumihars and Rajputs, though Brahmins, Kayasthas,
Ahir, Bania, Kurmies and Muslims also existed here and there. The
occupancy and non- occupancy ryots came largely from backward
castes, and agricultural labourers consisted mostly from the people from
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and from weaker sections of the
backward castes.
Our concern in this chapter will be with the following issues:
>- Which castes have been dominant in the villages as far as land
ownership and political power is concerned. This chapter seeks to
examine the interplay between caste and land control in the rural
Bihar.
>- What has been the impact of the abolition of the zamindari system
on the ownership of land by various castes?
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TABLE4-(i)
OCCUPATIONAL PATTERN IN BIHAR IN 1891
Occupation No. of People Engaged Percentage of Total
People Engaged
Government service 2,46,744 0.90
Pasture and agriculture 1,66,54,685 61.24
Personal service 11, 13,125 4.09
Preparation and supply of 32,30,772 11.88
material substances
Commerce, transport and 6,09,623 2.24
storage
Professions 3,45,783 1.27
Indefinite and independent 49,95,417 18.37
Total 2,71,96,149
Caste and Land Control in Rural Bihar
The relationship between caste and land became rigid to some
extent by the introduction of zamindari land rights under British rule.
Virtually all great landlords among Hindus were Brahmins, Bhumihars
and Rajputs, although not all households among the upper caste were
landlords. The majority of upper caste households were small landlords
and rich peasants. The most numerous members of the middle peasants
were Ahirs or Yadavas, the largest caste group in all district of Bihar,
followed by the traditional cultivating castes of kurmis and koeris. Some
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Y ada vas, kurmies and koeris whose holdings were too small to provide
subsistence also worked as agricultural labourers. More frequently,
untouchable castes such as chamars, musahars and Dusadhs,
performed field labour for which they were paid wages in kind. These
castes were distributed more or less evenly throughout the state.
TABLE-4(ii)
CASTE IN BIHAR
Category Caste Groups Percentage of Total Population
Twice-born Brahmin 4.7 caste Bhumihars 2.9
Raj puts 4.2 Kayasthas 1.2 Bania 0.6
Upper shudra Ahir(yadavas) 11.0 Kurmis 3.6 Koiri 4.1
Lower shudras Bar hi 1.0 Dhanuk 1.8 Kahar 1.7 Kandu 1.6 Kumhar 1.3 Lohar 1.3 Mallah 1.5 Nai 1.4 Tatwa 1.6 Teli 2.8 Other shudras 16.0
Muslims 12.5 Scheduled castes 14.9 Scheduled tribes 9.1 Total 100.0 Source: Blair, 1979.
Caste in Bihar can be broadly categorized in six groups, five
twice-born castes, constitute 13.6% (Brahmin-4. 7 percent, Bhumihars-
2.9, Rajputs 4.2 percent , Kayasthas-1.2 percent and Banias-0.6
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percent). Upper Shudras or OBCs - 18.7% (Yadavas-11 per cent,
Kurmies-3.6 percent and Koeris - 4.1 per cent), lower Shudras or
extremely backward castes 32 percent, Muslims 12.5 per cent ,
Scheduled Caste- 14 percent and Scheduled tribes 9.1 percent. Amongst
the upper castes, the Brahmins have the highest ritual and social status,
while Bhumihars and Rajputs have been landlords and major
landowning castes. Kayasthas have been educationally the most
advanced community in the state. Most of the big landlords are member
of twice born castes while most of the poor, landless laborers belong to
scheduled castes and other deprived castes.
The social structure of rural Bihar 1s mainly dictated and
conditioned by land relationships. In Bihar, the British never managed to
establish more than a limited raj. The provincial administration could
raise less than half the average amount of land revenue per thousand of
the population than other provinces and spent less than any other
provincial government on administration at the district and the divisional
levels. In 1911, fewer than 100 district officials were spread over 21
districts, while expenditure on the police per 1000 population was the
lowest in British India1. In all regions of Bihar, provincial government
was able to rule only on terms acceptable to the great rajas and
Zamindars who continued to be recognized as both the political and
social leaders of the people in their respective estates.2 Even before the
mutiny of 1857, the British has enlarged the legal powers of zamindars
1 Stephen, Henningham, Peasant movements in colonial India, Canberra, Australian national university, 1982. 2 J.S. Jha, Early revolutionary movements in Bihar, 1906-1920, K.P. Jiasawal Research institute, Patna, 1977
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and their agents to formidable level. By contrast, the zamindars ignored
government regulations to give the tenants written pattas stipulating the
rents and other conditions of lease. The zamindars further paid no
attention to government orders requiring the appointment of patwaris or
accountants at the village to record revenue transactions
As company rule gave way to that of crown, the main
imperative for the British in Bihar became a closer alignment between
the great landlords and the colonial state. The maximum benefits of the
government- zamindars alliance went to the old Hindu families in
possession of great estates, especially the Darbhanga raj, which
dominated Darbhanga and Muzzafarpur. Other major beneficiaries
included the Hathua Raj, which owned the northern part of Saran
district, and controlled smaller estates in Champaran, Sahabad,
Darbhanga and Muzzafarpur. The Betiah Raj in Champaran; the
Dumraon estate in Sahabad; and Ramgarh raj in Chottanagpur also
derived maximum benefit in this way.
Overall, the zamindari system established production relations,
which allowed zamindars to extract the surplus from agriculture, without
having any need to invest in improved cultivation practices. The system
therefore gave way towards commercialization of production among the
rich peasantry only and not for everybody. Consequently, it allowed the
zamindars to manipulate status value in order to protect their position. It
is indeed, difficult to disentangle the economic and social basis of upper
caste dominance at the villages. The large number of petty proprietors
were in no position to enhance rents or levy cesses on their tenants.
Nevertheless, the right to collect rents from ryots was by itself a source of
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prestige. This confirmed the zamindars supenor social position. Upper
caste households among all size groups, showed an overwhelming
preference for leasing out or cultivating their land with hired labourers
over working their holdings themselves or with the help of family
labour.The bhumihars and rajputs emulated the Brahmans m hiring
ploughmen as a means of enhancing their social prestige.
The Brahmanical life style also provided the authoritative social
model for the few landholders of shudra rank. The practice among low
caste Hindus leasing out land occurred mainly among larger owners. The
practice of leasing out land among the backward classes and scheduled
castes families was amazing especially when they themselves formed the
agricultural labourers' groups in village. Apart from many other factors,
leasing out land seemed to provide added social prestige in the villages to
families of backward class groups. 3 The zamindars were also clever in
manipulating the ritual gulf between tenants of twice born and shudra
rank to deprive the peasantry of the natural sources of leadership from
the most assertive sections of among its ranks. Few tenants in Bihar
were Brahmins or kayasthas, about 10 percent were bhumihars, but a
significant proportion were Rajputs. The bulk of tenants- cultivators
came from among the Ahirs, koiri, and kurmis. 4 Grierson found that in
the villages a clear distinction was made in the treatment of high caste
and low caste tenants that subordinated the economic definition of their
ranking to that of ritual status. Tenants of high and low castes were
3,G. Ojha, Land problems and land reforms, Sultanchand and sons, new Delhi, 1977. 4
, Francine frankel R., Caste land and Dominance in Bihar, in Frankel, Francine Rand M.S.A.Rao (eds), Dominance and State power in Modem India, Decline of a social order, oxford university press, New Delhi.
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referred to by different generic names, lived in separate quarters of the
village and were granted unequal term of tenure. Moreover, tenants from
high castes were not required to do begar or unpaid labour on the
landlords' fields, although they were required to send their own field
labourers for such works, low caste ryots customarily performed begar
and were much more subservient. s
Role ofBPKS
It is worthwhile to mention here the role of Bihar Pradesh
Kisan Sabha (BPKS), because it was the only peasant movement
committed to class struggle. It started from small beginning in 1927, as
the Kisan sabha in west Patna district and was expanded in 1929, to the
Bihar Pradesh kisan sabha, and in 1936, established a national presence
as the all kisan sabha .. Its leader was swami sahajanand sarswati. He
belonged to a small zamindar family in Gazipur district of eastern Uttar
Pradesh. 6 He combined the role of a religious reformer, congress
nationalist, kisan leader, and militant agitator without becoming wedded
to any political ideology or party organization. Although his strategy to
bring together the landlords and the tenants together was unsuccessful
in the surrounding countryside, peasant leaders emerged in other parts
of Bihar. In 1929, when it was formed it had the support of almost all the
congress leaders in the state. Most believed it would strengthen the
congress organization by drawing peasants into the civil disobedience
5 George Grierson A., Bihar Peasant life, cosmo publications, 1885. 6 Francine Frankel R.op.cit.
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movement. The relationship between the Bihar Pradesh congress
committee (BPCC) and the BPKS were very close. However, in course of
time, tensions between the two organizations built up slowly.
Militant local activists took up the cause of the peasantry in
pressing for reduction of rent, although the top congress leadership had
decided to avoid all agrarian issues. The zamindars retaliated by
instructing their ryots to have nothing to do with the civil disobedience
movement. Sahjanand became suspect when they began to disassociate
themselves from Gandhi whose emphasis on non-violence appeared to
them more and more designated to defend landlords' classes. Moreover,
he clearly intended to emphasis the rights of poor peasants and
agricultural labourers in agrarian struggles. In practice, the grass root
organization of the movement was never put in place, partly because the
activities of the BPKS revolved so closely around Sahjanand's personality
that the activities of the provincial kisan sabha were run informally from
Bihita ashram.7
Sahjanand, who wanted to keep the BPKS out of party politics,
nevertheless began to rely on the radical left inside the congress for
political support. At the urging of the socialist, he led the BPKS, in 1935,
to endorse zamindari abolition without compensation. He also went along
with the socialists, in 1936, when they formed the All India kisan sabha
(AIKS) which brought under a single organizational umbrella all kisan
Sabhas then active in the country. The all India kisan manifesto, which
claimed to represent all small landowners, tenants and landless
labourers, in effect challenged the assertion of congress that it was the
7 ibid.
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main kisan organization. Its radical programmes included abolition of all
zamindari tenures without compensation, as well as immediate demand
of reduction of rent by fifty percent cancellation of rent and revenue
arrears occupancy rights to all tenants.
In 1930, the condition of the cultivators of Bihar had
dramatically deteriorated. In north Bihar the economic depression, lasted
for about eight years. Many tenants survived only by incurring hopelessly
high debts, while some were deprived of their holdings through rent
suits. Since the 1920s, in Patna and Gaya districts, tenants had
succeeded in converting their produce rent, which frequently amounted
to % of the value of the crop. The zamindars with. few exceptions did not
reduce rentals once the slump set in. As the peasants fell into arrears
they were dispossessed from their land on grounds of non-payment of
rents.
The BPKS leaders responded by organizing meetings, rallies
and demonstrations at which they accused the congress of betraying the
masses, and ridiculed as absurd the Gandhian notion that there could
be compromise between the landlords and tenants. In 1937, the Bihar
congress had taken the decision to cut of all ties with the BPKS. The
Bihar congress working committee formally condemned Sahjanand for
inciting violence after which he resigned from the working committee.
The BPKS was itself led mainly by Brahmins and bhumihars. Its
followers mainly came from among the larger occupancy tenants who
were primarily bhumihars and rajputs.Moreover the BPKS inculcated a
sense of militancy among the peasants of Bihar against the different
types of exploitations. Overall, the kisan agitations did not see the
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emergence of tenants as a class; rather they resulted in a limited class
formation among rich peasants, who were primarily drawn from among
the upper castes. B
In 1947, a group of freedom fighters from backward caste
communities formed Bihar State Backward Class Federation. Its
charismatic leader R.L. Chandapuri builds a mass movement and this
federation published a Hindi weekly Pichra Vdrg. After 1950, the
momentum of the backward classes' movement declined. Congress
leaders offered Chadpuri's supporters government contracts, business
licenses, and the most alluring of all, congress tickets in the upcoming
1952 elections. The appointment of backward class commission by the
government of India in January 1953 provided a ray of hope to the
leaders of the backward communities. After 1952 elections, the congress
formed its ministry, and in the first Bihar Legislative assembly, a
backward class welfare committee was formed with membership cross
cutting party line to support the cause of the backward classes on the
floor of the assembly and to work in close cooperation with the backward
classes' federation outside the house.9
The publication of the backward classes' commission
reports, in 1955, recommended preferential treatment for members of the
other backward classes. The other backward classes instead of emulating
Brahmins and Kshatriyas now after the recommendation turned their
attention towards secular goals.
8 ibid. 9 ibid
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In practice, the Yadava caste group derived the greatest
benefit from the introduction of universal suffrage. In some
constituencies, their number accounted for 25 percent to 35 percent of
the electorate, sufficient to determine the outcome of election to the
legislative assembly. 10In the mean time, the congress government
introduced a bill to abolish the zamindari system. However, it was
delayed by zamindars by several tactics. Delayed enforcement favoured
the large landlords in efforts at evasion. Major loopholes in the legislation
permitted the zamindars to retain 'Homestead' land (up to ten acres), and
land used for agriculture and horticultural purposes in khas possession
without any upper limit.ll
Virtually no reliable land records existed to verify the actual
distribution of land between zamindars and occupancy tenants. Any
efforts by government officials to correct the land records were marked
with non-cooperation by the zamindars and occupancy tenants. Large
scale eviction of tenants occurred during the hiatus between the
adoption of zamindari abolition as congress policy and its enforcement as
state law. The power of landed classes to undercut land reforms was
further demonstrated in the ease with which they delayed passage of a
land ceiling bill from 1955 until 1962, and then ensured that the Bihar
land reform act was studded with every possible loopholes to scuttle
effective implementation.l2They had therefore some ten years to arrange
10 The 1911 census provides the last information on caste concentration for lower caste. In that year, yadavas reached up to 35 percent of the population in some revenue thanas, a unit that was about twice the size of a contemporary legislative assembly constituency, cited in Blair. 11 Khas possession included lands not only personally cultivated by the intermediaries but also cultivated under his supervision through a manager with hired labour, or through a sharecropper to whom he supplied the means of cultivation such as bullocks. 12 ibid
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partitions among family members, transfer lands to fictitious persons,
prepare false documents of sale, and alter land records. 13The transfer
during this period suggests that 400000 to 500000 acres of surplus land
were hidden through fictitious transfers alone.l4
The greatest beneficiaries of land reforms were the larger
occupancy tenants, some of whom got additional land as the result of
partitions, transfer and sales of surplus land by zamindars. According to
one estimate about 10 percent of total cultivable area passed from
control of the largest landlords into the hands of intermediate size
cultivators.ls
LAND AND CASTE
Big Landowner Midsize Owners Small Landless
(Over 10 Acres) (2.5-10 Acre) Owners (0- Labourers
2.5 Acre)
Twice-Born Castes 80 231 217
Backward Castes 18 89 457
Scheduled Castes 0 7 203
Source: Based on a survey of 2531 households in Bihar conducted in the early 1980s
under the auspices of the world Employment programme of the ILO. The result of this
survey are presented in an unpublished report: P.H. Prasad and G.B.Rodgers, "class,
caste and landholdings in the analysis of the Rural economy." Population and Labour
Policies programme, working paper no.140, world employment programme
13, M.P. Pandey, Land records and agrarian situations in Bihar, A.N. Sinha Institute of social sciences,
Patna, 1979. 14
, G. Ojha land problems and land reforms, Sultanchand and sons, New Delhi, 1977. 15
, Pradhan Prasad H., Caste and Class in Bihar, Economic and Political Weekly, annual number, Febuary, 1979.
124
32
392
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research(working paper),international labour office, Geneva, 1983, taken from agrarian
transformation by D.K.Singh,Rawat Publication, 1995.
From the table number 4(iii), it is clear that, there is strong
position of medium size landholders as an economic strata, relative both
to marginal and small farmers on the one hand and large landlords on
the other.
The majority of the larger occupancy tenants had been members of
the upper castes, especially Bhumihars and Rajputs. After zamindari
abolition, they became the largest landholders at the village level. By
contrast, yadavas and kurmies tended to have large holdings only in few
localities. Most important however, was the impact of zamindari abolition
on the social prestige of the upper castes. In Bhojpur, which was
previously known as Sahabad, the aristocracy and the propertied
zamindars were affected very badly. With the abolition of zamindari, they
had a great slump in what was considered a social prestige apart from
the decline of financial resources.16 Under the changed conditions, when
occupancy tenants enjoyed virtually the same rights in their holdings as
ex-intermediaries and paid rent to the state rather than tribute to the
landlords, the twice born castes found it impossible to assert the
subordination of economic standings to ritual status. Forcibly they had
to acknowledge a new situation in which low caste landowners could no
longer be subjected to social abuse .Moreover, in villages where the
yadavas or kurmies enjoyed numerical superiority, the introductions of
elections to the panchayat in 194 7, made it possible for candidates from
these castes to displace traditional Brahman leaders.
16 Bihar district Gazetteers, Sahabad, 1966.
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The implementation of land reforms and different tenancy reforms
are not at all satisfactory. The problem is that, in the area there is no
security of tenure of the tenants. In rural Bihar, most of the tenancy is
done orally and there is no record at all. In this case, once a tenant is
moves for his legal rights, the landownerimmediately evicts him.
TABLE 4(iv)
NUMBER AND SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF OPERATIONAL HOLDINGS IN BIHAR
Size class in Number percentage Area percentage hectares( acres)
Marginal 64.33 16.09 0.5 to 1.0 (1.2 to 2.5)
Small 14.64 13.62 1.0 to 2.0 (2.5 to 5)
Semi-medium 4.4 10.9 2.0 to 4.0 (5 to 10) Medium 7.1 36.2
4.0 to 10.0 (10 to 25)
Large 1.38 12.12 10.0 to 20.0
(25 to 50)
Over20.0 1.7 8.4 Source: B1har revenue department (Agncultural census), Report on Agncultural census,
1970-71, Patna,Bihar.
After independence, with the abolition of landlordism, the rise of
rich peasantry has brought the middle social stratum of society- the
middle land based castes- to leading positions in the rural economy and
in state politics. Some of the middle level peasants occupy dominant
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positions in the economic and political system of the village. Taking the
1911 census as guide, we find that there are a few areas in Bihar where
the forwards are in a plurality; they form over 30 percent of total
population in parts of bhojpur district and over 25 percent in pockets of
Aurangabad, Patna, and Rohtas districts. For the most part, however,
they collectively amounted to between 5 and 15 percent of the
population. Instead, the backwards are numerically large in most areas.
Yadavas alone account for over 25 percent of the population in areas of
Gaya, patna districts and taken together with the koiries and kurmies
amount to over 30 percent in larger parts of Nalanda and Rohtas
districts in addition to those just named. The upper backwards simply
outnumber the forwards in many places.
There is a noticeable transfer of economic power in the villages
to the backwards, as the forwards prove unable to cope with the
aggressiveness, industry and profit orientation of the backwards. The
situation started taking a gradual turn in the post 1960s when the socio
economic. consequences of land reforms measure and green revolution
began expressing themselves in growing peasants' class differentiation.
The growing consciousness of deprivation was articulated in terms of
their rightful claims. This disgruntled group became more aware about
their numerical strength and political power. The changing tenor was
further visible in growing activities of several militant groups and
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increasing atrocities on members of dalit castes who were in most of the
cases poor peasants and agricultural labourers.
Status of rural poor was improved therefore to this the rural
poor were able to exercise their right to vote. The rural poor also
organized themselves under the banner of BPKS, the peasant
organization of the IPF and voiced certain demands, all of which fall
within the purview of constitution of India. In the course of asserting
their rights, the villagers resorted to peaceful forms of struggle such as
processions, meetings and strikes. Besides, they also reactivated the
traditional systems of panchayat group meetings in villages and took
collective decisions. The landlords irrespective of their political or caste
affiliations, forged an alliance with the local administration and
frustrated efforts towards formulation of policies in favor of the rural
poor and their implementation. They responded to the mobilization of the
poor launched by the BKPS by the show of armed strength. The attempts
of the Harijans to assert their rights have often resulted in fighting.
Bloodshed and arson, more often due to counter resistance by the middle
strata such as yadavas, koiries and kurmies.
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TABLE-4(v)
CASTE, CLASS AND LAND OWNERSHIP IN PLAINS OF RURAL BIHAR
Caste Percentage of persons to total in each of the caste group Per Capita
Land owning category (acres) Class Cultivat ed
0 0-5 5-10 10+ All Landlor Middl Poor Land d and e Pea sa Owned in Rich Pea sa nt acre Peasant nt
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Upper 5.7 62.1 17.9 14. 100 89.5 2.9 5.5 0.54 Castes 3
(22.2)
Upper 25.9 66.4 5.5 2.2 100 27.8 35.1 27.6 0.33 Middle castes (21.7)
Other 60.9 37.6 0.0. 1.5 100 7.5 9.2 77.9 0.17 middle castes (16.3)
Scheduled 69.5 30.4 0.1 0.0 100 2.0 4.4 92.0 0.12 Castes
(27.2)
Hindus 40.9 48.7 5.9 4.5 100 31.6 12.5 51.5 0.31
(87.4)
Muslims 58.6 35.4 4.4 1.6 100 21.0 10.3 58.3 0.25
(12.6)
All 43.1 47.0 5.8 4.1 100 30.3 12.2 52.3 0.30
(100) Note: Ftgures m parenthests refer to percentage dtStnbutwn wtth reference to row total Source of Data: "An empirical research study by International Labour Office, Geneva and ANS Institute
of Social Studies, Patna on "Dynamics of Employment and Poverty" in Bihar in 1981. See Prasad P.H. and
Rodgers, G.B. (August 1983), Class, Caste and Landholding in the analysis of the Rural Economy. World
Employment Programme Research, Population and Labour Policies Programme, Working paper No.140,
ILO, Geneva"
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The above table shows the condition of land, caste and class
ownership in rural Bihar. 14.3% of the upper castes possess more than
10 acres of land whereas, the percentage of the lower castes is nil in this
regard. 69.5% of the lower castes particularly, the scheduled castes
possess no land at all in the rural areas. In class term, most of the
landlords are from the upper castes whereas most of the landless are
from the lower castes. 92percentage of the scheduled castes can be
categorized as the poor peasants according to this table. If we see the
condition of the middle castes, we come to know that their condition is
also far from satisfactory. 60.9% of the other middle castes are landless
and only 1.5% of them possess more than 10 acres of land. Most of the
middle castes and the lower castes are either landless or they fall under
the category of the poor peasants class in the rural areas of Bihar.
The table 4(vi) clearly shows the connection between land holding
and its relation with certain privileged caste and class. It is also clear
from the same table that land is Concentrated in a few higher castes
hand and it is their status symbols. The gap between the highest and
lowest is maximum in Bihar than in any other state in India. The
Bhumihar and Rajputs hold approximately 73 percent of the total land
area in Bihar with little other enterprise, land ownership in State shows
the dominance and power structure.
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T ABLE-4(VI)
CASTE, CLASS, LAND AND THE TYPE OF CULTIVATION
Class Size ofLand Caste Feature Holdings
Upper Class Very large Brahmin, Not take cultivation of Landlords landholdings Bhumihar and rather intermediares
Raj puts cultivate their land (More than 30 acres)
Rich Large land holdings Bhumihars, Cultivate themselves, Farmers Rajputs, Farming is based on
(About 8-30 acres) Kayastha, exploitations. Yadavas, Kurmies, Koeries
Middle Medium land Yadavas, Koeries, Partly themselves and Farmers holdings Kurmies partly employ cheap
labourers. (About 5-8 acres)
Poor Small land Mainly backward Cultivation is done by Farmers holdings SCs etc. themselves.
(Less than 4 acre)
Agricultural Either landless or Poor strata of BCs Landless Labourer own very small and SC. labourers I bounded
land. labourers.
Source: Field Survey of Bihar, conducted during November-December 1994.
From the above table it is amply clear that the most of the upper
caste landholders usually do not cultivate themselves rather they employ
others. This shows that they seek social prestige in terms of manual and
non-manual laborers. The land is concentrated in the hands of few
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higher castes, and it is their status symbol. The gap between the highest
and the lowest is maximum in Bihar than in any other state in India.
With little other enterprise, land ownership in state shows the dominance
and power structure. Prasad has characterized this as semi-feudal
agrarian structure. 17 According to him vast majority of peasant
households are deficit ones, which forces them to take consumption
loan, from the landowner,class, which they are never able to return, even
in the long run, due to their chronic deficit. This resulted in semi
bondage, it allows them to become semi bondage, and it allows them to
become semi-serf. 18This allows landowners who are mainly upper castes
to become not only rich but also politically very powerful.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that power in rural Bihar, directly or indirectly
linked to the caste and landownership. The ownership of land cannot be
seen only in economic terms, but it has larger social and political
connotation. Owner gains prestige and power by the possession of
agricultural land. We have seen from the above discussion that the role
of BPKS was of crucial importance in the mobilization of the landless and
semi-landless people of Bihar.
17 Pradhan Prasad H.. Economic Benefits in the Kosi command area, A.N .S. Institute of social Sciences Studies, Patna, 1979.
18 Ibid.
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