Bahun ( ne, बाहुन) or Khas Brahmin ( ne, खस ब्राह्मण) is a
caste (
''Varna'') among
Khas people
Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historica ...
of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. Their origins are from the
Indo-Aryan Khasa tribe of Nepal and South Asia. According to the
2011 Nepal census, 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 from ...
, 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 ritual ...
) and
twice-born
Dvija (Sanskrit: द्विज) means "twice-born" in ancient Indian Sanskrit. The concept is premised on the belief that a person is first born physically and at a later date is born for a second time spiritually, usually when he undergoes the ...
Hindus.
Origin
Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together with
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 from ...
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 se ...
. 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 list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
Clans
Bahuns were divided into two clans on the basis of residency. The Bahun residents east of
Mahakali river
The Sharda River, also called Kali River and Mahakali River, originates at Kalapani in the Himalayas at an elevation of in the Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand, India. It flows along Nepal's western border with India and has a basin area ...
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 Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to:
* Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran
* , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII
See also
...
.
Demography
According to the
2011 Nepal census, 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
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
group with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns).
Bahuns are the largest group in 15 districts in Nepal:
Jhapa
Jhapa ( ne, झापा जिल्ला; ) is a district of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi word "Jhapa" meaning "to cover" (verb). The latest official data, the 2021 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the d ...
,
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 Sunsar ...
,
Kathmandu
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, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
,
Chitwan
Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...
,
Nawalparasi
Nawalparasi District ( ne, नवलपरासी जिल्ला, ), part of which belongs to Gandaki Province and part to Lumbini Province, was one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal before being divided into Nawalparasi (West of ...
,
Rupandehi
Rupandehi District ( ne, रुपन्देही जिल्ला; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011 ...
,
Kaski,
Syangja
Syangja District ( ne, स्याङ्जा जिल्ला; ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Syangja bazaar (a small town) as its district headquarters, covers an area o ...
,
Parbat
Parbat District ( ne, पर्वत जिल्ला , is a hilly area of Nepal. It is a part of Gandaki Province and one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Kusma as its district headquarters, covers an area of and ...
,
Gulmi
Gulmi District ( ne, गुल्मी जिल्ला), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Tamghas as its headquarters, covers an area of , had a population of 296,654 in 2001, 28 ...
and
Arghakhanchi. Among these, Bahuns in
Parbat
Parbat District ( ne, पर्वत जिल्ला , is a hilly area of Nepal. It is a part of Gandaki Province and one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Kusma as its district headquarters, covers an area of and ...
(35.7%),
Arghakhanchi (32.8%),
Syangja
Syangja District ( ne, स्याङ्जा जिल्ला; ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Syangja bazaar (a small town) as its district headquarters, covers an area o ...
(30.9%),
Chitwan
Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...
(28.6%),
Kaski (27.8%) and
Gulmi
Gulmi District ( ne, गुल्मी जिल्ला), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Tamghas as its headquarters, covers an area of , had a population of 296,654 in 2001, 28 ...
(25.2%) consist more than 25% of the district population.
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
has largest Bahun population with 410,126 people (23.5%).
Bahuns have the highest
civil service 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, 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
Madhav Prasad Devkota is a Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlo ...
*
Chabilal Upadhyaya
Chabilal Upadhyaya was born on 12 May 1882 at Budhigang (Undivided Darrang) present day Biswanath district, was the first (selected) president of the Assam Pradesh Congress committee. In 1919 Upadhyaya's family settled at Mazgaon (Gongmouthan), ...
*
Ranga Nath Poudyal
Ranga Nath Poudyal Atri ( ne, रङ्गनाथ पौड्याल) popularly known as Ranganath Pandit was the Mukhtiyar of Nepal from 1837 December to 1838 August and in 1840 November for about 2–3 weeks. He was the first Brahmin Prime ...
*
Krishna Prasad Koirala and
Koirala family
Koirala family (Nepali: कोईराला परिवार) is one of the prominent political families of Nepal in the Republican Era. The family was founded by Krishna Prasad Koirala, a Rana Era socio-political activist who was exiled t ...
*
Matrika Prasad Koirala
Matrika Prasad Koirala ( ne, मातृका प्रसाद कोइराला ; 1 January 1912 – 11 September 1997) was the Prime Minister of Nepal for two terms from 16 November 1951 to 14 August 1952 and again from 15 June 1953 to ...
*
Tanka Prasad Acharya
*
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala
*
Girija Prasad Koirala
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 Congress and served as the ...
*
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 a ...
*
Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari (Magi) ( ne, मन मोहन अधिकारी 9 June 1920 – 26 April 1999) was the 31st Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). He is the ...
*
KP Sharma Oli
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli ( ne, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, ; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served three terms as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 Augu ...
*
Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda)
*
Madhav Kumar Nepal
Madhav Kumar Nepal ( ne, माधवकुमार नेपाल, ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011 for nearly two years. ...
*
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 ...
See also
*
Caste system in Nepal
The Nepalese caste system was the traditional system of social stratification of Nepal. The Nepalese caste system broadly borrows the classical Hindu ''Chaturvarnashram'' model, consisting of four broad social classes or varna: Brahmin, Kshatriya ...
*
Varna (Hinduism)
''Varṇa'' ( sa, वर्ण, varṇa), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical caste system. The ideology is epitomized in texts like ''Manusmriti'', which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes t ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Brahmin communities
Brahmin communities of Nepal
Khas people
Brahmins
Brahmin communities
Gurkhas
Ethnic groups in Nepal
Ethnic groups in South Asia
Hindu ethnic groups
Hindu communities