The Kuer Sena was 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 cultura ...

-based militia operating in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

during the 1970s and 1980s. The majority of its members were young men from the

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

caste, and the militia was named after the 19th century anti-colonial revolutionary,

Kunwar Singh Kunwar Singh (born: 13 November 1777 – died: 26 April 1858), also known as Babu Kunwar Singh, was a leader and military commander during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He led a selected band of armed soldiers against the troops under the comm ...

, who is considered be a community hero by the

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

of Bihar.

History

The Kuer Sena was one of the first of the caste-based militias to emerge in

during the early years of the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. It was founded by the

landlord and coal businessman, Rajnath Singh who was also an affiliate of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

party. While it initially had innocent aims, it eventually grew into persecuting the people of the lower-caste who had Naxalite affiliations. Because of this, Rajnath Singh was eventually arrested by the local government and the running of the militia was left to his commander, Bir Bahadur Singh. Bir Bahadur Singh was also known to the local authorities and was connected to some 20 murder cases meaning that he was often in and out of jail. He was eventually elected as an MLA for the

Jagdispur Jagdishpur is a nagar panchayat town of the district Bhojpur of the state of Bihar in eastern India. It was the capital of the eponymous Jagdishpur estate, ruled by Rajputs of the Ujjainiya clan. One of its rulers, Kunwar Singh, was a major f ...

area and his tenure was mired by atrocities against the so-called " lower castes". They regularly engaged in battles with the MCC militias and often found themselves allying with other caste-based militias like the

Ranvir Sena The Ranvir Sena is a militia functioning as a landlord group, mainly based in the state of Bihar, India. The group was formed by Bhumihar landlords in 1994, with the aim to counter the influence of various left-wing militants, Naxalite groups ...

which was controlled by the Bhumihars and the

Bhumi Sena Bhumi Sena was a private army which operated in the Patna, Nalanda, Jehanabad, and Gaya regions of Bihar, India in the 1980s, made up of members of the Kurmi caste. History Bhumi Sena was formed by Kurmi landowners in 1982, in response to the ...

controlled by the

Kurmis Kurmi is traditionally a non-elite tiller caste in the lower Gangetic plain of India, especially southern regions of Awadh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar. The Kurmis came to be known for their exceptional work ethic, superior tilla ...

Disintegration

The organisation ended up collapsing due to its over-reliance on a few

landlords as leadership, many of whom were often sent to jail. The Rajputs soon started to band around a new caste-based army known as the Sunlight Sena which was formed in the early 1990s and allied with

Muslim 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 Abrah ...

landlords in the region.

References

{{reflist Paramilitary organisations based in India Caste-related violence in India Anti-communist terrorism Rajputs Non-military counterinsurgency organizations Indigenous counterinsurgency forces Anti-communism in India 1970 establishments in Bihar Military units and formations established in 1970 Private armies Caste-related violence in Bihar Rajput clans of Bihar

History

Disintegration

See also

References