Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
term frequently found in
Buddhist texts
Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
, with a literal meaning of "the many", or "the majority". In a modern context, it refers to the combined population of the
Scheduled Castes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
,
Scheduled Tribes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
,
Other Backward Classes
The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...
,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, and minorities, who together constitute the demographic majority of India. The word ''bahujan'' appears in the dictum "
Bahujana sukhaya bahujana hitaya cha
''Bahujana sukhaya bahujana hitaya cha'' (translates to "for the happiness of the many, for the welfare of the many") is a dictum or aphorism enunciated in the Rigveda in Sanskrit.
Hinduism defines five basic traditional philosophical concepts an ...
" ("for the happiness of the many, for the welfare of the many"), articulated by
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
.
In the post-independence era, the term ''bahujan'' was introduced into Indian political discourse and given its modern definition by anti-caste
social movements
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of Group ...
inspired by the work of
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
and
Jyotirao Phule
Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including erad ...
, and often associated with Dalit Buddhism. The outlook of these movements is sometimes referred to in English as Bahujanism, and is positioned by its proponents as a
majoritarian
Majoritarianism is a traditional political philosophy or agenda that asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language, social class, or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primac ...
philosophy demanding social equality for backward castes, religious minorities, and other disadvantaged communities, in opposition to the dominance of the Forward Castes. Similarly, the term bahujanisation has been used to refer to the coalescence of various movements advancing the interests of particular backward castes and communities into a broad united front seeking comprehensive social change.
The word ''bahujan'' features prominently in the names of political parties basing their political programme on this philosophy and campaigning as advocates for groups included under the ''bahujan'' umbrella, such as the
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), alon ...
,
Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi
The Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (translation: Deprived Majority Front; VBA) is an Indian political party founded by Prakash Ambedkar on 20 March 2018. The party is primarily based in Maharashtra state.
History and background
On 1 January 2 ...
,
Bahujan Mukti Party
The Bahujan Mukti Party (BMP) is a political party in India launched on 6 December 2012. Pravendra Pratap Singh is National President Bahujan Mukti Party.
Merger proposal with Loktantrik Janata Dal
A merger with Loktantrik Janata Dal (founded ...
,
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh
The Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (IAST: Bhāripa Bahujana Mahāsaṅgha; BBM) was an Indian political party founded by Prakash Ambedkar on 4 July 1994. The party was a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and had its roots in the Sched ...
, and the
Bahujan Shakti Party
Bahujan Shakti Party is a political party in Nepal led by Vishwendra Paswan.
History
In the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, the party won 1 seat through the Proportional Representation vote.Pali words and phrases