Kushwaha

Before the 20th century CE, branches that form the Kushwaha community – the Kachhis, Koeris, and Muraos – favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta.{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |pages=12, 91–92}} In the 20th century, the Kushwaha began to claim descent from the Suryavansh dynasty through Kusha, a son of the mythical Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. In the 1920s, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, said Kushwaha families worshiped Hanuman, who Pinch described as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita", during Kartika, a month in the Hindu lunar calendar.{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=98}}

William Pinch notes a Kushwaha presence in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and they are also recorded in Haryana. Outside India, they are found in Terai, Nepal, where they have been officially recorded as Kushwaha and Koiri.{{cite book |title=Social Inclusion of Ethnic Communities in Contemporary Nepal |pages=109–110 |first=Monika |last=Mandal |publisher=KW Publishers |year=2013 |isbn=978-93-81904-58-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0y6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT108}} They also have significant presence among the Bihari diaspora in Mauritius. The migration of Biharis to neighbouring countries became more pronounced in post-independence India. Small island nations like Mauritius have significant populations of people of Indian origin. The tradition and culture of Hindu migrants in countries like Mauritius is quite different from the Indian subcontinent, including varna status and "social hierarchy", both of which terms have several variations in Mauritius vis a vis India. The traditional ruling elites like Rajputs and Brahmins are politically and economically marginalised in Mauritius, whereas cultivating castes like Koeri, Ahir, Kurmi, Kahar, and others have improved their social and financial position.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F7NCwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+in+Mauritius&pg=PA14|title=Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora|first=Crispin|last=Bates|publisher=Springer|page=14|year= 2016|isbn=978-0333977293|access-date=1 July 2020}} According to Crispin Bates:

{{quote|The Vaish are the largest and most influential caste group on the island. Internally the group is divided into Koeri, Kurmi, Kahar, Ahir, Lohar and other jatis. In the past many admitted to Chamar status (as shown by historical records), but recently this seems to have become completely taboo. This group, now commonly known as 'Rajputs', will also sometimes describe themselves as 'Raviveds'. An explanation may lie in the rapid economic growth of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the lack of positive discrimination measures of the sort seen in India. |author=|title=|source=}}

The Kushwaha are often associated with the Kurmi caste, which have same socio-economic status in Bihar. Despite having some similarities, the Kushwaha and the Kurmi are different in many aspects. In the early 20th century, socio-economic ascendancy of the Kurmis led them to become landlords. Consequently, they were involved in the formation of a private army called the Bhumi Sena, which perpetrated massacres of Dalits and other atrocities. The Koeris have always led the battle of weaker sections of society against landlords.{{cite web|url=https://thewire.in/politics/bihar-nitish-kumar-upendra-kushwaha-rlsp-jdu-koiri-kurmi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411230235/https://thewire.in/politics/bihar-nitish-kumar-upendra-kushwaha-rlsp-jdu-koiri-kurmi|title=Bihar: What Nitish Kumar and JD(U) Hope To Achieve Through Upendra Kushwaha's Merger|website=The Wire|editor=Nalin Verma|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021}} In districts such as Aurangabad, Bihar, where the feudal system was prevalent, the Kushwaha along with Yadavs have successfully led the Dalits in their armed struggle against landlords.{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/end-of-a-dynasty-in-chittorgarh-of-bihar-728009.html|title=End of a dynasty in 'Chittorgarh of Bihar'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612163248/https://www.deccanherald.com/national/end-of-a-dynasty-in-chittorgarh-of-bihar-728009.html|archive-date=12 June 2022 |website=Deccan Herald|date=10 April 2019 |access-date=12 June 2022}}

According to a report of the Institute of Human Development and Studies, the Kushwaha with the per capita income of {{INR|18,811}} are among the highest-earning social groups of Bihar, much above the other important backward castes like Yadavs. They are placed below the upper castes in per capita earning.{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bihar-elections-caste-obc-mandal-6929329/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122091426/https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bihar-elections-caste-obc-mandal-6929329/ |title=Lower castes in Bihar have got political power, not economic progress|editor1=Christophe Jaffrelot|editor2=Kalaiyarasan A|website=Indian Express|date=4 November 2020 |access-date=22 January 2021|archive-date=22 January 2021}} In regions like Samastipur, Bihar, the Kushwaha are politically strong and are involved with criminality.{{cite book|title=Women Empowerment Through Panchayati Raj Institutions|first=Minni |last=Thakur|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year= 2010|isbn=978-8180696800|page=31

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hbA4A--9HcC&pg=PA31|access-date=16 June 2020}} Author Tilak Das Gupta notes that Koeris of Bihar are known to be an educationally advanced community, along with castes like Awadhia Kurmi and Bania, due to more spread of education among them in contrast with several other communities categorised as Other Backward Class. {{cite journal|first=Tilak D.|last=Gupta.|title= "Yadav Ascendancy in Bihar Politics."|journal=Economic and Political Weekly| volume= 27|issue= 26|year=1992|pages=1304–06|jstor=4398537}} Amongst various subgroups constituting Kushwaha community, Koeris of Bihar were known to be owner of significant amount of land; they were employers of Schedule Caste labourers and after the land reform drive of North Indian states like Bihar, many new landlords of the post reform period also emerged from within them.{{cite book|title=Dalits, Subalternity and Social Change in India|year=2018|editor1 = Ajit K. Pandey|editor2=Ashok K. Pankaj|place=United Kingdom|publisher=Taylor & Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHd0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT21 |pages=21–23|isbn=9780429785184 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ju2wEAAAQBAJ |title=Migration, Food Security and Development: Insights from Rural India|author=Chetan Choithani|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2023|

isbn=978-1009276771|page=107|quote= Although the end of zamindari led to a mass eviction of sharecroppers and tenant cultivators who were the actual tillers of the land, big landlords from high castes also saw their landholdings diminish. A new class of landlords belonging to the upper-middle caste groups such as Kurmi, Koeri and Yadavs- officially categorised as other backward classes in contemporary Bihar - emerged. These were mostly small and middle peasants who were able to consolidate their landholdings and position in society in the midst of zamindari reforms (Wilson, 1999; Sharma, 2005).}} In Bihar, many Koeris, who now possess land, education and government jobs have become upwardly mobile and demonstrate upper-caste characteristics.{{cite magazine |title=Who is Bihar ex-MP Anand Mohan and why Nitish Kumar govt got him freed from jail |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/anand-mohan-gets-freed-from-jail-nitish-kumar-rajput-vote-bank-bihar-rjd-bjp-politics-2364418-2023-04-25 |magazine=India Today |date=25 April 2023 |access-date=28 April 2023}}

In Uttar Pradesh, the Kushwaha community comprise approximately 8.5% of the state's population. They are distributed across the state and are known as Maurya, Morao, Shakya, Koeri, Kachhi, and Saini in different parts of the state.{{cite news |last=Rashid |first=Omar |date=18 January 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/elections/uttar-pradesh-assembly/keshav-the-rss-home-grown-maurya/article38287711.ece |title=The importance of being Keshav Prasad Maurya in BJP |work=The Hindu |access-date=16 February 2023 |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216172123/https://www.thehindu.com/elections/uttar-pradesh-assembly/keshav-the-rss-home-grown-maurya/article38287711.ece |url-status=live }} The community has sizeable presence in almost all of the nineteen assembly constituencies of Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, which consists seven districts— Jhansi, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Banda, Mahoba and Lalitpur.{{cite news |last=Singh |first=Sanjay |date=20 December 2011 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/bsp-promotes-another-kushwaha-with-eye-on-bundelkhand-votebank/ |title=BSP promotes another Kushwaha with eye on Bundelkhand votebank |work=Indian express |access-date=25 August 2023 |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825200948/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/bsp-promotes-another-kushwaha-with-eye-on-bundelkhand-votebank/ |url-status=live }}

The Kushwaha-Maurya community also have a sizeable presence in Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. They are found primarily in areas of the state bordering neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.{{cite news |title=Delhi confidential: Seeking Seats |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ |access-date=4 October 2023 |work=The Indian Express |date=19 October 2018 |archive-date=6 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006053547/https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-seeking-seats-upendra-kushwaha-madhya-pradesh-elections-chhattisgarh-elections-5408353/ |url-status=live }}

In 2023, the regional caste organisation of the community in Madhya Pradesh demanded that at least twenty five candidates of the Kushwaha caste should contest the election in 230 membered Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The leaders of the organisation declared that they will support only that political party which will provide appropriate representation to them in the government. In the 2018-23 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, there were eight members of legislative assembly belonging to Kushwaha community. From the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in government, Bharat Singh Kushwah and Ram Kishor Kawre from the community were ministers in Government of Madhya Pradesh. There were two other legislators from the BJP in the Assembly. From the Indian National Congress, there were four legislators in the Assembly, Baijnath Kushwah, Ajab Singh Kushwah, Siddharth Sukhlal Kushwaha, and Hina Kaware.{{cite web|url=https://www.bhaskar.com/local/mp/bhopal/news/kushwaha-samaj-asked-for-25-tickets-if-not-received-candidates-will-be-fielded-on-50-seats-131203088.html|title=Kushwaha community asked for 25 tickets if not received candidate will be fielded on fifty seats|website=Dainik Bhaskar|accessdate=11 June 2024|archive-date=9 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509144752/https://www.bhaskar.com/local/mp/bhopal/news/kushwaha-samaj-asked-for-25-tickets-if-not-received-candidates-will-be-fielded-on-50-seats-131203088.html|url-status=live}}

According to Arun Sinha, the Koeris were known for their market gardening activities. Since Indian independence, the land reform movement made it difficult for the erstwhile upper-caste landlords to maintain their holdings. The growing pressure from left-wing militants backed by Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)) and some local political parties; and the weakening of the Zamindari system made it difficult for them to survive in rural areas. The decades following independence were marked by the urbanisation of upper castes, who sold their unproductive holdings, which were mostly bought by the peasants of cultivating middle castes, who were affluent enough to purchase land. Some of the land was also bought from Muslim families who were migrating to Pakistan. The Koeris, Kurmis, and Yadavs were the main buyers of these lands.{{cite book | last=Sinha | first=A. | title=Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar|publisher=Viking | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-670-08459-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT2xWp_iTCYC|pages=80–84 | access-date=7 April 2015}}

Because the peasant castes considered their land to be their most productive asset, they rarely sold it. The zeal of peasant castes to buy more and more land gradually changed their economic profile, and some of them became "neo-landlords". The peasants attempted to protect their new economic status from those below them, especially the Dalits, who were still mainly landless labourers. The peasants adopted many of the practices of their erstwhile landlords. The pattern of land reform in states like Bihar mainly benefitted the middle castes like the Koeris, and was also responsible for the imperfect mobilisation of backward castes in politics. The space created by Backward castes in electoral politics after 1967 was dominated mainly by these middle-peasant castes, who were the biggest beneficiary of the "politics of socialism", the proponents of which were people like Ram Manohar Lohia.{{cite book |last=Kumar|first=Sanjay |title=Post mandal politics in Bihar:Changing electoral patterns|publisher=SAGE publication|pages=55|isbn=978-93-528-0585-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zhODwAAQBAJ&q=jagdeo+prasad&pg=PA55|date=5 June 2018}} The unequitable political space at the disposal of other "Backward castes" and Scheduled Castes was an implication of these land reforms – according to Varinder Grover:

{{quote|The pattern of land reforms in Bihar is one of the main reason for imperfect mobilisation of backward castes into the politics. The abolition of all intermediaries had definitely helped the hard working castes like Kurmi, Koeris and Yadav. These small peasant proprietors worked very hard on their land and also drive their labourers hard, and any resistance by agricultural labourers gives rise to the mutual conflicts and atrocities on Harijans.{{cite book|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=M4yABACTXw4C&pg=PA780|title=Indian Political System: Trends and Challenges, Volume 10

|isbn=8171008844|chapter=Political system and constitution of India|author=Verinder Grover|publisher=Deep and Deep Publications|year=1997|pages=780–781|access-date=2020-10-05}}}}

The differences between upper backward castes and the extremely backward castes, and Dalits, due to unequal distribution of the benefits of land reforms, was a major challenge before the CPI(ML) in mobilisation of collective force of lower castes against the upper-caste landlords. The upper backward castes like Koeri were initially less attached to the CPI(ML) due to their economic progress, and the communists were only successful in mobilising them in regions Patna, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, and Rohtas district. These success were attributed to the widespread dacoity and oppressive attitude of the upper-caste landlords faced by these hardworking caste groups, which prompted them to join revolutionary organisations.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zA2rCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT178|title=Government of Peace: Social Governance, Security and the Problematic of Peace|chapter=Bihar 1990-2011|author=Ranabir Samaddar|date=3 March 2016|publisher=Routledge, 2016|isbn=978-1317125372|access-date=5 October 2020|page=178}}

The Kushwaha engaged in political action during these latter days of the Raj. Around 1933 and 1934,{{efn|The date of formation of the Triveni Sangh has been variously stated. Some sources have said it was the 1920s but Kumar notes recently discovered documentation that makes 1933 more likely,{{cite book |pages=43, 196 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA43 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}} whilst Jaffrelot has said 1934.}} the Koeris joined with the Kurmis and Yadavs to form the Triveni Sangh, a caste federation that by 1936 claimed to have a million supporters. This coalition followed an alliance for the 1930 local elections, which performed poorly at the polls. The new grouping had little electoral success; it won a few seats in the 1937 elections but was defeated by a two-pronged opposition that saw the rival Indian National Congress (Congress) attracting some of its wealthier leaders to a newly formed unit called the Backward Class Federation, and an effective opposition from upper castes organised to prevent upward mobility of the lower castes. Also, the three putatively allied castes were unable to reconcile their rivalries. The Triveni Sangh also faced competition from the All India Kisan Sabha, a peasant-oriented socio-political campaigning group run by communists. The appeal of the Triveni Sangh had significantly waned by 1947{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |pages=197–198}}{{cite book |page=44 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA44 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}} but had achieved a measure of success outside elections by exerting sufficient influence to bring an end to the begar system of forced, unpaid labour; and by providing a platform for people seeking reservation of jobs in government for non-upper-caste people.{{cite book |page=36 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA36 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}} In 1965, there was an abortive attempt to revive the defunct federation.{{cite book |page=62 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA62 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}

The Kisan Sabha was dominated by peasant castes like the Koeri, Kurmi, and Yadav; historian Gyan Pandey termed them mainly movements of the middle-peasant castes who organised against eviction with limited participation of other communities. The reality, however, was more complex. Dalit communities like the Chamars and Pasis, whose traditional occupations were leatherwork and toddy-tapping respectively, formed a significant portion of the landless peasantry and were significant in the Kisan Sabha, which also included members of the high castes such as Brahmins.{{cite book |title=Reconsidering Untouchability: Chamars and Dalit History in North India |first=Ramnarayan S. |last=Rawat |author-link=Ram Narayan Rawat |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-25322-262-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bz5dKC81O3IC&pg=PA12 |publisher=Indiana University Press |pages=12–15}} The Koeris also had a significant presence in the 1960s Naxalite movement in rural Bihar, particularly in Bhojpur and nearby areas like Arrah, where an economic system dominated by upper-caste landlords was still in place.{{cite news|first=Suroor|last=Ahmed|date=31 October 2018|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/politics/bihar-seat-sharing-amit-shah-had-no-time-to-meet-kushwaha-rlsp-leaders-upset|title=Bihar-seat-sharing-amit-shah-had-no-time-to-meet-kushwaha-rlsp-leaders-upset|work=National Herald|access-date=3 August 2020|archive-date=17 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717023147/https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/politics/bihar-seat-sharing-amit-shah-had-no-time-to-meet-kushwaha-rlsp-leaders-upset|url-status=live}} Here, the communist upsurge against the prevalent feudal system was led by Jagdish Mahto, a Koeri teacher who had read Ambedkar and Marx, and was sympathetic to the cause of Dalits.

Mahto organised his militia under the banner Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI(ML)), which murdered many upper-caste landlords in the region. These violent clashes demarcated the boundaries between Koeris and Bhumihars in the Ekwaari.{{cite book|title = Reinventing Revolution: New Social Movements and the Socialist Tradition in India|first=Gail|last= Omvedt|publisher=M.E.Sharpe |page=59|year=1993|isbn=0765631768|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wlxb0uacnRcC&q=Reinventing+Revolution:+New+So/jagdish+mahto&pg=PA59|access-date=16 June 2020}}^ Its first mass leader was Jagdish Mahto, a Koeri teacher who had read Ambedkar before he discovered Marx and started a paper in the town of Arrah called Harijanistan ("dalit land").{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVu8CgAAQBAJ&q=on+February+17+1967+jagdish+went+to+the+polling+booth+to+caste+his+vote&pg=PT142|title=Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar|first=Santosh|last= Singh|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing|year= 2015|isbn=978-9385436420|access-date=19 July 2020}} For much of the 20th century, the Koeri were generally less effective and less involved in politics than the Kurmis and Yadavs, who broadly shared their socio-economic position in Hindu society. The latter two groups were more vociferous in their actions, including involvement in caste rioting, whilst the Koeris had only a brief prominence during the rise of Jagdeo Prasad. This muted position dramatically changed in the 1990s when the rise to power of Lalu Prasad in Bihar caused an assertion of Yadav-centric policies that demanded a loud reaction.{{cite book |pages=34–37 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA36 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}

Earlier, the Koeris were given fair representation in the state governments of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. The Backward politics of Lalu Prasad Yadav resulted in rise to political prominence of numerous Backward castes, among which the Koeri were prominent. In this period, caste remained the most-effective tool of political mobilisation; some leaders who were theoretically opposed to caste-based politics also appealed to caste loyalties to secure their victory. The Rabri Devi government appointed ten Koeris as ministers in her cabinet, which was sought by many community leaders as a fair representation of the caste.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-CavJF-EVEC&q=rabri+devi+government+had+10+koeri+minister&pg=PA166|title=Towards a New Era: Economic, Social and Political Reforms|first=M. L.|last= Sondhi|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year= 2001|isbn=8124108005|access-date=19 July 2020}} The portrayal of Lalu Prasad Yadav as a "Messiah of Backward castes" lost traction when the Yadav ascendancy in politics led other aspirational Backward castes to move away from his party. During the 1990s, Nitish Kumar, who was projected as the leader of Kurmi and Koeri communities, formed the Samta Party, leading to the isolation of Koeri-Kurmi community from Yadavs and Laloo Prasad.{{cite book|title=City, Society, and Planning: Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odCJoIaDqZ0C&q=koeri+bihar+politics&pg=PA400|first=Baleshwar|last=Thakur|location =University of Akron. Department of Geography & Planning, Association of American Geographers|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|pages=393–400|year=2007|

isbn=978-8180694608|access-date=16 June 2020}} Samta with its leader Nitish is considered to be the party of Koeri-Kurmi, the Bihar People's Party led by Anand Mohan is perceived to have sympathy and support of Rajputs.

In the decades following independence, a complete shift of power from upper castes to the "upper Backward castes"; a term coined to describe the Koeri, Yadav, Kurmi, and Bania in Bihar. The transfer of power also occurred at the local level of governance. The upper caste were first to acquire education and initially benefitted from it but with the expansion in electoral franchise and growth of the "party system", they lost support to upper Backward communities. Nepotism and patronage for fellow caste members in government, which had previously been an upper-caste phenomenon, was now available to the upper Backward communities. This phenomenon continued in the 1970s with the premiership of Karpoori Thakur, who had provided 12% reservation to lower Backward castes and 8% to upper Backward castes, in which the Koeri were included. The peak of this patronage was reached during the tenure of Laloo Yadav.

From 1990 onwards, the solidarity of Backward castes was severely weakened due to division among the Koeri-Kurmi community and Yadavs, whose voting patterns were contrasted. When the Samta Party allied with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Koeris voted for this alliance and in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP fared well, mostly due to the support of Koeri and Kurmis. The division among Backwards castes also cost their representation in the assemblies. The profile of the Bihar legislative assembly rapidly changed since 1967; until 1995 or 1996, the representation of upper castes was reduced to around 17% but the division among Backwards castes served as a hope to the upper castes to at least increase their representation. The success of the BJP-Samta coalition also consolidated the Koeris and the Kurmis, who merged as a political force in 1996 elections.{{cite book|title=Caste and Democratic Politics in India|first=Ghanshyam|last=Shah|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2004|isbn=8178240955|pages=346, 350–354

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aou17T8KaEEC&q=caste+and+bihar+politics&pg=PA346|access-date=18 June 2020}}

Since 1996, Koeris voted en masse for the Janata Dal (United) (JD (U))-BJP coalition. The caste-based polarisation in Bihar and other states moved the dominant Backwards castes away from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and distributed their votes to other political parties. Koeris, who were one of the most-populous caste groups, were shifted first towards the JD (U)-BJP coalition. After the expulsion of Upendra Kushwaha from the JD (U) and the formation of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, their votes were distributed amongst the JD (U) and the new social coalition of the BJP with the Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ONcNDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT158|title=Electoral Politics in India: The Resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party|chapter=7. The eastern gift, BJP's 2014 victory in Bihar|author1=Suhas Palshikar|author2=Sanjay Kumar|author3=Sanjay Lodha|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn =978-1351996914|access-date=3 October 2020}} In the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, Janata Dal (United) allied with its rival Rashtriya Janata Dal due to differences with the BJP. Due to the social composition of these parties and the core-voter base, this coalition drew immense support from the Yadav, Kurmi, and Kushwaha castes, which rarely voted together after the 1990s. Consequently, the coalition emerged with a massive victory and the number of legislators from these agrarian castes grew compared to previous elections.{{cite news|last=Eshwar|date=30 October 2020|url=https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/bihar-caste-politics-data-analysis-nitish-kumar-advantage-nda-bjp-jdu-mahagathbandhan-rjd-return-as-cm#read-more|title=Which Caste Holds Key to Nitish's Return as CM? Here's the Data|work=The Quint|access-date=24 November 2020|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124202848/https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/bihar-caste-politics-data-analysis-nitish-kumar-advantage-nda-bjp-jdu-mahagathbandhan-rjd-return-as-cm#read-more|url-status=live}} The coalition was later dissolved and in the 2020 Assembly election, the disunity among the three castes and split of votes led to huge decline in the number of Kushwaha legislators.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/bihar/one-in-every-four-members-in-new-bihar-assembly-will-be-from-upper-caste/articleshow/79214031.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129214537/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/bihar/one-in-every-four-members-in-new-bihar-assembly-will-be-from-upper-caste/articleshow/79214031.cms?from=mdr |title=One in every four new Bihar assembly members is from upper castes|website=Times of India| date=17 November 2020 |access-date=24 November 2020|archive-date=29 January 2021}}

Though generally considered as supporters of Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, the Kushwaha community in some of the left-dominated assembly constituencies like Ziradel and Bibhutipur are also core supporters of communist parties— Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation; mainly because of the creation of rooted leaders like Ramdeo Verma and Amarjeet Kushwaha from the community by these parties.{{cite news |last1=Pandey |first1=Rajan |last2=Kumar |first2=Sajjan |date=9 October 2020 |title=How a Reinvented Left Is Gaining Electoral Significance in Poll-Bound Bihar |url=https://thewire.in/politics/left-parties-bihar-elections-rjd |work=The Wire |access-date=30 April 2024 |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218183009/https://thewire.in/politics/left-parties-bihar-elections-rjd |url-status=live }}

According to author and political analyst Prem Kumar Mani, Kushwahas are more acceptable to other caste groups specially the Extremely Backward Castes in Bihar, when it comes to assuming the political leadership of latter. Mani points towards existence of cordial relationship of Kushwahas with the other caste groups in Bihar's villages, where guests of all rural communities are sent to Mahto Ji ka Dalan (a rural living room owned by Kushwahas in popular village culture) to spend the night. As a political bloc, Kushwahas decides the results of elections in at least 63 assembly seats and in half a dozen Lok Sabha seats like Ara, Khagaria, Karakat, Ujiyarpur and Sasaram.{{cite news |last1=Mishra |first1=Dipak |date=2 April 2023 |title=Part of Nitish's core 'Luv-Kush' votebank & on BJP radar — why Kushwahas are sought after in Bihar politics |url=https://theprint.in/politics/part-of-nitishs-core-luv-kush-votebank-on-bjp-radar-why-kushwahas-are-sought-after-in-bihar-politics/1490546/ |work=ThePrint |access-date=30 April 2024 |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409054839/https://theprint.in/politics/part-of-nitishs-core-luv-kush-votebank-on-bjp-radar-why-kushwahas-are-sought-after-in-bihar-politics/1490546/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Santosh |date=14 May 2024 |title=Nitish Kumar's core voter base for decades, why Kushwaha support for NDA is wavering |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/upendra-kushwaha-support-nda-nitish-kumar-core-voter-decades-9324668/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=15 May 2024}}

In Khagaria Lok Sabha constituency, a total of five parliamentarians from the community has been elected since 1957, which is second only to Yadav parliamentarians. The Koeri parliamentarians elected from this constituency are Kameshwar Prasad Singh, Chandra Shekhar Prasad Verma, Satish Prasad Singh, Shakuni Choudhary and Renu Kushwaha.{{cite news |url=https://www.bhaskar.com/local/bihar/khagaria/news/dominance-of-yadav-and-kushwaha-in-khagaria-lok-sabha-bihar-bhaskar-latet-news-132739550.html |title=Dominance of Yadavs and Kushwahas in Khagaria Lok sabha constituency |work=Dainik Bhaskar |lang=hi |access-date=30 April 2024 |archive-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403134758/https://www.bhaskar.com/local/bihar/khagaria/news/dominance-of-yadav-and-kushwaha-in-khagaria-lok-sabha-bihar-bhaskar-latet-news-132739550.html |url-status=live }} In Arrah Lok Sabha constituency from 1951 to 2004 only Koeri and Yadav parliamentarians were elected. The Koeri parliamentarians included Chandradeo Prasad Verma, Haridwar Prasad Singh and Ram Prasad Kushwaha.{{cite news |last=Ojha |first=Malay |date=12 September 2023 |url=https://www.livehindustan.com/bihar/story-ara-lok-sabha-seat-equation-caste-vote-share-election-history-latest-update-bjp-rk-singh-nda-rjd-mgb-8700595.html |title=Arrah Lok Sabha constituency, will BJP become victorious? |work=Hindustan |access-date=18 October 2023 |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015004126/https://www.livehindustan.com/bihar/story-ara-lok-sabha-seat-equation-caste-vote-share-election-history-latest-update-bjp-rk-singh-nda-rjd-mgb-8700595.html |url-status=live}}

In Uttar Pradesh, Kushwaha-Maurya community had been traditional supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party, with Mayawati promoting community leaders like Babu Singh Kushwaha and Swami Prasad Maurya. Maurya was even appointed as National General Secretary of the BSP, in order to placate Kushwahas.{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Ramendra |date=27 April 2016 |title=Uttar Pradesh: Wary BSP works to ward off OBC vote claimants |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/mayawati-keshav-prasad-maurya-uttar-pradesh-wary-bsp-works-to-ward-off-obc-vote-claimants-2771805/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=30 April 2024}} Previously, Bahujan Samaj Party founder, Kanshi Ram also gave significant role to community in Uttar Pradesh's caste based politics.{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Ramendra |date=20 April 2016 |title=Uttar Pradesh: As a Maya minister cast(e)s net to unite OBCs, BSP wary |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/uttar-pradesh-as-a-maya-minister-castes-net-to-unite-obcs-bsp-wary/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=30 April 2024}} In Uttar Pradesh, community is known by various terms like Maurya, Kushwaha, Shakya and Saini.{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/latest-news/eye-on-obcs-mayawati-appoints-maurya-as-bsps-national-gen-secy/ |title=Eye on OBCs,Mayawati appoints Maurya as BSP's national gen secy |work=Indian express |date=4 August 2012 |access-date=24 August 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724142339/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/latest-news/eye-on-obcs-mayawati-appoints-maurya-as-bsps-national-gen-secy/ |url-status=live }} Off late, Bharatiya Janata Party also started promoting leaders of the community; it raised Keshav Prasad Maurya to the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and projected him as the representative of Kushwaha and its subgroups, the Kachhi-Shakya-Maurya-Saini-Mali block.{{cite news |last1=Yadav |first1=Shyamal |date=26 March 2022 |title=Newsmaker: Reluctant to disturb UP OBC poll calculus, BJP retains Keshav Maurya as Deputy CM |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/yogis-deputies-reluctant-to-disturb-obc-poll-calculus-bjp-retains-maurya-7836791/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=30 April 2024 |archive-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016081602/https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/yogis-deputies-reluctant-to-disturb-obc-poll-calculus-bjp-retains-maurya-7836791/ |url-status=live }} Besides these political parties, smaller parties like Mahan Dal led by Keshav Dev Maurya also claims to represent Kushwaha and its subgroups in state.{{cite book|title=Sensex Of Regional Parties: Sensex Of Regional Parties |author=Aaku Srivastava|year=2022|publisher =Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Limited.}}

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The central Bihar Backward castes like Koeri are numerically and politically powerful, and reject the traditional Jajmani system, which relies upon the Brahmanical notion of purity and pollution.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pviHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PR18|title=Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy?|author=Dipankar Gupta|publisher=SAGE Publications India|year=2004|isbn=8132103459|access-date=9 October 2020}} The Backward caste groups in this region do not use the services of Brahmin priests to perform their rituals; most Koeri households employ a Koeri priest to perform their rituals, and their services are also used by other Backward castes like the Yadav. Koeri priests are different from Brahmin priests in their approval of widow remarriage. They also promote non-vegetarianism and do not grow tuft like Brahmins. Koeri priests also disapprove of the tika – a liquid form of sandalwood on the head – which is made by the Brahmin priests.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IHWKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|title=Understanding Social Dynamics in South Asia: Essays in Memory of Ramkrishna Mukherjee|author1=Partha Nath Mukherji|author2= N. Jayaram|author3=Bhola Nath Ghosh|publisher=Springer|year=2019|page=97|isbn=978-9811303876|access-date=7 October 2020}}

In recent times (21st century), Kushwahas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have started associating themselves with the Mauryan dynasty. The members of caste claim that they are direct descendant of the third century B.C ruler Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka.{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/patna/nitish-kumar-delhi-amit-shah-bihar-8527321/ |title=Someone from Delhi will come, try to mislead you…': Nitish takes veiled dig at Shah ahead of Bihar visit |work=Indian Express |agency=PTI |date=30 March 2023 |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826192307/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/patna/nitish-kumar-delhi-amit-shah-bihar-8527321/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/amit-shah-bihar-nitish-kumar-ashoka-8530801/ |title=Amit Shah coming to Bihar, Nitish invokes the new king among castes Emperor Ashoka |work=Indian Express |date=31 March 2023 |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016091919/https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/amit-shah-bihar-nitish-kumar-ashoka-8530801/ |url-status=live }}

The Kushwaha were traditionally a peasant community and hence perceived to be of the Shudra varna.{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=81}} Pinch described them as "skilled agriculturalists".{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=92}} This traditional perception of Shudra status was increasingly challenged during the late decades of British Raj rule, although some castes had made claims of a higher status well before the British administration instituted its first census.{{efn|William Pinch records; "... a popular concern with status predated the rise of an imperial census apparatus and the colonial obsession with caste. ... [C]laims to personal and community dignity appeared to be part of a longer discourse that did not require European political and administrative structures."{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=88}}}} The Kurmi community of cultivators, described by Christophe Jaffrelot as "middle caste peasants", led this search for greater respectability. According to Pinch; "The concern with personal dignity, community identity, and caste status reached a peak among Kurmi, Yadav, and Kushvaha peasants in the first four decades of the twentieth century".{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |pages=83–84}}

From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom had close links with the British for much of the preceding century due to their favoured role in the cultivation of the opium poppy, began to identify themselves as Kushwaha Kshatriya.{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=90}} An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as one of the Kshatriya varna in 1928. This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social uplift by communities that had traditionally been classified as Shudra. The process, which M. N. Srinivas called sanskritisation,{{cite journal|last=Charsley |first=S. |s2cid=143948468 |year=1998 |title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory |journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology |volume=32 |issue=2 |page=527 |doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }} was a feature of late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century caste politics.{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |page=199}}{{cite book |title=History of anthropological thought |first1=Vijay S. |last1=Upadhyay |first2=Gaya |last2=Pandey |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC |page=436}}

AIKKM's position was based on the concept of Vaishnavism, which promotes the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the sacred thread, even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupation defined them as Shudra. The movement caused the Kushwaha to abandon their claim of descent from Shiva in favour of the alternative myth of their descent from Rama.{{cite book |title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh |first=Smita Tewari |last=Jassal |publisher=Technical Publications |year=2001 |isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC |pages=51–53}} In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritisation, published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao, and Kushwaha.{{cite book |title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation |first=Badri |last=Narayan |publisher=SAGE |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC |page=25}} His reconstructed history said the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush, and that in the twelfth century, they served Raja Jayachandra in a military capacity during the Muslim consolidation of the Delhi Sultanate. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, forgoing the sacred thread, and thus becoming degraded and taking on localised community names. Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which Dipankar Gupta wrote provided a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".{{cite book |title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? |first=Dipankar |last=Gupta |publisher=SAGE |year=2004 |page=199 |isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}} Some communities, such as the Muraos in Ayodhya, also constructed temples in support of these claims.

Some Kushwaha reformers also said, in a similar vein to Kurmi reformer Devi Prasad Sinha Chaudhari, that since Rajputs, Bhumihars, and Brahmins worked the fields in some areas, there was no rational basis for assertions such labour marked a community as being of the Shudra varna.{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=110}} William Pinch described the growth of militancy among agricultural castes in the wake of their claims to Kshatriya status. Castes like Koeris, Kurmis, and Yadavs asserted their Kshatriya status verbally and by joining the British Indian Army as soldiers in large numbers. The growing militancy among the castes led rural Bihar to become an arena of conflict in which numerous caste-based militias surfaced and atrocities against Dalits became normalised. The militias founded during this period were named after folk figures or popular personalities who were revered by the whole community.{{cite book |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution... |page=209,210 |first=George |last=kunnath|publisher=Taylor and Francis group |location=New york |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-138-09955-5|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JkcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA209|access-date=29 May 2020}}

{{See also|Other Backward Class}}

Kushwahas are classified as an Other Backward Caste (OBC) in some states of India. In 2013, the Haryana government added the Kushwaha, Koeri, and Maurya castes to the list of Backward classes.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/three-castes-included-in-backward-classes-list/article1-1147408.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415174249/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/three-castes-included-in-backward-classes-list/article1-1147408.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2014 |work=Hindustan Times |title=Three castes included in backward classes list |date=5 November 2013 |access-date=14 April 2014}} In Bihar they are categorised as OBC.{{cite web|url=http://www.scbc.bih.nic.in/ObcList.htm|title=Central list of backward castes (Bihar)|website=scbc.bih.nic|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=3 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103135501/http://scbc.bih.nic.in/ObcList.htm|url-status=dead}} Sub-castes of Kushwaha community, such as the Kachhi, Shakya, and Koeri, are also categorised as OBC in Uttar Pradesh.{{cite web|url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/user_panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLvxbegUDuc3MN4eB5E3Ecc1drRPAf1qXQ%2bl0IqIfhjN1xHrf4i2h5g0|title=Central list of OBC (Uttar Pradesh)|website=ncbc.nic.in|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020162131/http://www.ncbc.nic.in/User_Panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLvxbegUDuc3MN4eB5E3Ecc1drRPAf1qXQ%2Bl0IqIfhjN1xHrf4i2h5g0|url-status=live}}

• Kushwaha (surname)
• Mahto

Notes

{{notelist}}

Citations

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1qXDQAAQBAJ&q=rabri+devi+government+had+10+koeri+minister|title= Social Movements and the State in India: Deepening Democracy?|first=Kenneth Bo Nielsen|last= Alf Gunvald Nilsen|date= 23 November 2016|publisher=Springer|pages=2016|isbn= 978-1137591333|access-date=19 July 2020}}
• {{cite book|title=From popular movement to rebellion:The Naxalite dacade|page= 317,318|first=Ranbir|last=Samaddar|publisher=Routledge|location =New york|year=2019|isbn= 978-0-367-13466-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjZ7DwAAQBAJ&q=jagdish+prasad+mahto+naxal&pg=PT317|access-date=30 May 2020}}

Category:Agricultural castes

Category:Social groups of Bihar

Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh

Category:Suryavansha

Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh

Category:Social groups of Jharkhand

Category:Social groups of Rajasthan

Category:Hindu communities

Category:Indian castes