Bahun ( ne, बाहुन) or Khas Brahmin ( ne, खस ब्राह्मण) is a

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

( ''Varna'') among Khas people of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Their origins are from the Indo-Aryan Khasa tribe of Nepal and South Asia. According to the

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities an ...

, Bahun is the second most populous group after

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration fr ...

, another Varna within the hill Hindus in Nepal. According to 1854 ''Muluki Ain'' (Nepalese Legal Code), Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (

Tagadhari ''Tagadhari'' () are members of a Nepalese Hindu group that is perceived as historically having a high socio-religious status in Nepalese society. Tagadhari are identified by a ''sacred thread'' ( Janai) around the torso, which is used for ritua ...

) and twice-born Hindus. Bratabandh(traditional_customs_done_by_brahmins)_(4)

Origin

Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together with

s and Hill Dalits. Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Bahun and Khas Rajput (Chhetris) had high social status like plain Brahmins and Rajputs in the present-day western Nepal. Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with Chhetri, were associated mostly with the

Gorkha Kingdom Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing s ...

. Bahuns were original inhabitants of Karnali region of Nepal. The immigration of Brahmins into Nepal increased significantly from 1324 and continued up to 1769 due to the foreign invasion in the western portion of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

Clans

Bahuns were divided into two clans on the basis of residency. The Bahun residents east of Mahakali river were known as Purbiya Bahun and west of the river were known as Kumai Bahun. Kumai or Kumain is a direct derivative of Kumaoni, meaning residents of Kumaon.

Demography

According to the

, Bahuns (referred as Hill-Brahmin) are the second most populous group after Chhetri with 12.2% of Nepal's population (or 32,26,903 people). Bahun are the second largest Hindu group with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns). Bahuns are the largest group in 15 districts in Nepal: Jhapa,

Morang Morang District ( ne, मोरङ जिल्ला ) is located in Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district. It borders with Bihar, India to the South, Jhapa to the East, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the North, and ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...

, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kaski, Syangja, Parbat, Gulmi and Arghakhanchi. Among these, Bahuns in Parbat (35.7%), Arghakhanchi (32.8%), Syangja (30.9%), Chitwan (28.6%), Kaski (27.8%) and Gulmi (25.2%) consist more than 25% of the district population.

has largest Bahun population with 410,126 people (23.5%). Bahuns have the highest

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

representation with 39.2% of Nepal's bureaucracy while having only 12.1% of Nepal's total population. The civil service representation to population ratio is 3.2 times for Bahuns which is fourth in Nepal. Chhetris represent 5.6 times in civil services to their percentage of population, which is the highest in Nepal. As per the

Public Service Commission Public Service Commission may refer to: * Public utilities commission ** Alabama Public Service Commission ** Public Service Commission (Indiana) ** Public Service Commission of Utah ** Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ** Public Utilities Com ...

, Brahmins (33.3%) and Chhetris (20.01%) were two largest caste group to obtain governmental jobs in F.Y. 2017-18 even though 45% governmental seats are reserved for women, Madhesis, other caste and Tibetan tribes, people with disability and those from the backward regions. Similarly, in the fiscal 2018–19, Bahuns (34.87%) and Chhetris (19.63%) maintained 55% of their proportion in civil service as per Public Service Commission.

Notable people

* Madhav Prasad Devkota * Chabilal Upadhyaya * Ranga Nath Poudyal * Krishna Prasad Koirala and Koirala family * Matrika Prasad Koirala * Tanka Prasad Acharya * Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala *

Girija Prasad Koirala Nepal Ratna Man Padavi, Nepal Ratna Girija Prasad Koirala ( ne, गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइराला ; 4 July 1924 – 20 March 2010), affectionately known as Girija Babu, was a Nepalese politician. He headed the Nepali Con ...

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai Krishna Prasad Bhattarai (Nepali: कृष्णप्रसाद भट्टराई; 13 December 19244 March 2011) also known as Kishunji was a Nepalese political leader. He was one of the main leaders involved in transitioning Nepal from ...

* Man Mohan Adhikari * KP Sharma Oli *

Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ( ne, पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born 11 December 1954), also widely known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (, ; meaning "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Nepal. He pre ...

* Madhav Kumar Nepal *

Baburam Bhattarai Baburam Bhattarai ( ne, बाबुराम भट्टराई, ; born 18 June 1954), also known by his nom de guerre Laaldhwoj, is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister, who presently serves as leader of the Nepal Socialist Party ...

References

Bibliography