Backward Caste movement in Bihar
After the control of Diwani rights passed into the hands of the East India Company, an attempt to centralise the revenue collection was made through the Permanent Settlement of 1793 which settled the land, earlier owned by state, in favour of the Zamindars.
[4] A majority of tenant cultivators, however, belonged to the Yadav, the Kurmi and the Koeri castes, while the Dalits were included in the category of landless labourers, whose condition in this hierarchy was the worst compared to the others.
Grierson in Bihar Peasant Life (1920), highlights the following proverb prevalent in Bihar's rural life to describe the inherent prejudices against the low caste peasants, the so called rar Jāti:[4] Kaeth kichhu lelen delen, Brahaman khiyaulenDhan, pan paniyaulen, au rar jati latiyaulen (A Kayasth does what you want on payment, a Brahman on being fedpaddy and betel on being wateredBut a low caste man on being kicked.
The CPI (ML) was leading the struggle of the labourers and other groups and ultra-Left cadres belonging to Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, an organisation based on the ideas of Jay Prakash Narayan, which later turned towards radicalism aimed at reducing growing class difference.
These middle peasant castes were linked to the landlords in a variety of ways, including economic ties such as trade and money lending to supply credit and input in agricultural operations.
The CPI(ML), another radical outfit, had its support base among the Koeri and the Yadav castes, which shifted away to electoral politics after the foundation of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD translation: National People's Party.
The varna system, upon which the British understanding of Indian society was based, continued to recognise them as Shudra against their claim of Kshatriya status from the beginning of 1900, because of the expertise of Brahmins in the caste-hierarchy related matters.
It avoided the social and cultural transformation going on in contemporary society and connected the movement to the aspirations of Jati activists seeking employment in higher government posts and the rising concern with caste pedigree that was tied to the policy of hierarchical ranking in the census office.
The Yadavs also worked as charvaha (herders) for the upper caste apart from traditional occupation of cattle husbandry and milk business had benefitted from the zamindari abolition but to a lesser extent than the other OBCs.
Baijnath Prasad Yadav, a Kshatriya reformer and a resident of Varanasi, advocated a curb on the independence of women and their participation in public festivals where they were prone to the pollution caused by impure contact of many low Jātis who roamed the crowd.
Most often the officiation of the rituals also resulted in compelling the less fortunate Yadavs to prohibit their women from selling Goetha (cow dung cakes) in the market as an alternative source of income as it was against the status of the community aspiration of Kshatriyahood.
As a result, numerous schools and colleges were set up to impart education to community members to enable them to grab a share of power and provide an income opportunity through employment in government services.
[10] The Bhumihar Brahmin Mahasabha, led by Sir Ganesh Dutt, however, feared a split in 1920 after the emergence of Sahajanand Saraswati as the leader of the tenants and the poorer section of the caste.
Later, they tried to bring the Koeri and the Yadav together to form a political union called Triveni Sangh, which appeared dangerous to the Congress because it intended to mobilise the peasant caste sharing the same position on the socio-economic ladder.
Consequently, with the formation of the Backward Class Federation by Congress, with the leadership and mobilisation by peasant leaders like Bir Chand Patel and Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, the Triveni Sangh movement failed to create a long-lasting impact in politics.
[14] According to Ashwani Kumar: ...the Kurmis historically enjoyed the reputation of a violent caste and ruthless Kulak, that attempted to impose feudal dominance and consideration of hierarchy over Dalits.
Unlike the upper backwards— the Koeris, Kurmis and Yadavs, these caste groups hailed primarily from artisan backgrounds and had remained associated with a variety of low scale non-agricultural activities in the past.
The attacking party, however, to the number of about 3000 armed with lathis [heavy, metal tipped bamboo truncheons], axes, and spears continued to advance and the police were forced to fire to protect themselves and the Goalas.
When the Goalas of Bihar initiated the Janeu movement and started wearing the thread to uplift their cultural status in the first decade of the 20th century, they encountered strong resistance from the Bhumihars and the Thakurs.
[19] Meanwhile, the economic prosperity of the upper caste was waning as they could hardly farm a productive yield on their large plots of land without the help of sharecroppers or hired labourers.
There also existed the notion of high 'ritual status' which forbade the upper caste from touching the plow in the period under consideration which is observed by revenue specialists like Denzil Ibbetson and mentioned by Susan Bayly, who blames them for being responsible for their own decline.
Lalu Prasad also abolished the state tax on toddy to the benefit of the Pasi and proclaimed that fisherman (Mallaah) would have the right to fish from the river which had earlier depended on the will of the village strongmen.
In the latter half of the 1990s, when Lalu was facing charges for his implicit involvement in the Fodder Scam, he was successful in convincing his core electorate, the backwards, that the "system", which is controlled by the upper castes, was hatching a conspiracy to finish him.
The stringent action by the Chief Election Commissioner and the threat by the Bharatiya Janata Party to impose president's rule on the state, were linked as part of bigger conspiracy against him.
Such an incident gave mileage to the Yadav's politics as the slogan, "Vikas nahi samman chahiy" (we need dignity not development) served as a guiding light for these capital scarce, downtrodden communities.
Similarly, according to a report by the Asian Development Research Institute the Kurmi caste used to held sway in People's War group while Yadavs were dominant in the Maoist Communist Centre.
It became very difficult for the Brahmin landlords to abuse their workers to their face now, and they were helpless watching a Mallaah Mukhia hoist the national flag on the occasion of Independence and Republic day.
[29] Despite populist measures like the abolition of the zamindari and positive discrimination in the form of reservation for lower castes, the upper-caste retained their socio-economic dominance by exploiting loopholes in the existing legislation.
For a long time, the Congress was backed by these upper-caste members who still managed to dominate the block, the bank and the thana (police stations)—the tripod of rural India which determines the hierarchy of status in their feudal society.
Journalist Dilip Mandal argues that the upper-caste dominated media demonised Lalu, because of his robust stand on the enforcement of the quota for the lower castes, but it did not help to destroy his political strength in the state.
