Krishnaut or Kishnaut Ahir[1][2] is a clan of the Yadav (Ahir) caste found in Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal.[3][4][5] The term Krishnaut which to them denotes their descent from Lord Krishna.[6]

With landholdings in the Northern and Central parts of India, a small segment of the community had taken over land in the newly reclaimed portion of Eastern Bihar (Purnea and Saharsa) to become big landowners.[7]

Origin and history edit

The Krishnaut subcaste of Yadav's a name which to them denotes their claimed descent from Lord Krishna.[8][9] Earlier they had seven section (mul), of which the first four claim their migration from Braj region and the other three are said to be the descendants of the Abhira rulers of Nepal.[citation needed]

List of Kingdom and Estate edit

In Bihar, Nepal and Jharkhand there were many rulers and zamindars belonging to Ahir (Yadav) caste.[10] The Ahir zamindars were predominantly found in northern and eastern parts of Bihar. Most of them belonged to Krishnaut and Majhraut clans of Ahir.[11][12]

Culture edit

Krishnaut people worship Bir Kuar, Bakhtaur Baba as their deity. They sing Lorikayan in Bihar.[15][16][17] Krishnaut Yadavs never sell milk, ghee, or butter and to a large extent, they became cultivators.[citation needed]

Distribution and titles edit

Distribution edit

Krishnaut numerically exceed other sub-caste in the diara land of Patna, Saran and Vaishali district of Bihar.[18]

Title edit

The titles generally used by Krishnaut and other sub-caste of Ahirs in Bihar are Yadav, Raut, Gope, Ray/Rai/Roy, Mandal, Prasad, pratap, Singh, Thakur, etc.[19][20][21]

Notable persons edit

  • Bir Kuar, a god of Krishnaut Ahir.[22]
  • Karu Khirhar, a folk god.[23]
  • Bakhtaur Baba, a folk god.
  • Ranjit Singh Ahir, commander of rebel army of Bairakpur( Indian Rebellion of 1857)[24]
  • Bishu Raut, a folk God of Kosi division and Bhagalpur district of Bihar.
  • Badri Ahir, a freedom fighter.[25]
  • Akshyatwat Rai, a freedom fighter.
  • Jiriyawati Devi, a brave women freedom fighter who killed 16 english soldiers.[26]
  • Narsingh Gope, a freedom revolutionary and Zamindar of Govindpur.[26]
  • Jiyalal Mandal, a freedom fighter and politician.
  • Daroga Prasad Rai, Ex-Cm of Bihar.
  • Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, a politician.[27]
  • Ram Jaipal Singh Yadav, a freedom fighter and 3rd Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
  • Uday Narayan Rai, a politician.
  • Hukumdev Narayan Yadav, a Former Union Minister of Cabinet Textile and food processing and recipient of Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award
  • Nand Kishore Yadav, Currently MLA of Patna Sahib Assembly consecutive seven time former Leader of opposition Bihar Assembly.
  • Nityanand Rai, a leader of BJP, Currently Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.[28]
  • Dinesh Chandra Yadav, currently Member of Parliament from Madhepura and former minister of Bihar Government.
  • Surendra Prasad Yadav, a popular Politician, currently Co- operative minister of Bihar Government.
  • Dr. Ramanand Yadav, currently Minister in Bihar Government.
  • Jitendra Kumar Rai, currently Minister Of Bihar Government.
  • Kunal Singh, first superstar of Bhojpuri cinema.
  • Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration in January 2018
  • Naik Ganesh Prasad Yadav, Veer chakra, kargil war 1999.
  • Captain Ashutosh Kumar, posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra[29]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ The National Geographical Journal of India, Volume 21. National Geographical Society of India., 1975. 1975. pp. 189–191.
  2. ^ Pandey, Shyam Manohar (1982). The Hindi oral epic Canainī: the tale of Lorik and Candā (in Hindi). Sahitya Bhawan.
  3. ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1957). Bihar District Gazetteers: Bhagalpur. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
  4. ^ Pandey, Shyam Manohar (1982). The Hindi oral epic Canainī: the tale of Lorik and Candā (in Hindi). Sahitya Bhawan.
  5. ^ Sherring, Matthew Atmore (1872). Hindu Tribes and Castes: Hindu tribes and castes as represented in Benares. Thacker, Spink & Company.
  6. ^ Swartzberg, Leon (1979). The North Indian Peasant Goes to Market. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-3039-4.
  7. ^ Singh, Kumar Suresh (1998). India's Communities: H - M. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2. While most Yadavs were small scale peasants in North and Central India, a small number of them acquired land in newly reclaimed area of Eastern Bihar (Purnea and Saharsa) and became big land holders.
  8. ^ Swartzberg, Leon (1979). The North Indian Peasant Goes to Market. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-3039-4.
  9. ^ O'malley, L. S. S. (2007). Bihar And Orissa District Gazetteers : Saran. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7268-136-4.
  10. ^ Barik, Radhakanta (2006). Land and Caste Politics in Bihar. Shipra Publications. ISBN 978-81-7541-305-4.
  11. ^ Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India: India's communities. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
  12. ^ Bihar men samajik parivartan ke kuchh ayam (in Hindi). Vani Prakashan. 2001. ISBN 978-81-7055-755-5.
  13. ^ The National Geographical Journal of India. National Geographical Society of India. 1975.
  14. ^ Rao, M. S. A. (1987). Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India. Manohar. ISBN 978-0-8364-2133-0.
  15. ^ Pandey, Shyam Manohar (1982). The Hindi oral epic Canainī: the tale of Lorik and Candā (in Hindi). Sahitya Bhawan.
  16. ^ Bahadur), Sarat Chandra Roy (Ral (1942). Man in India. A.K. Bose.
  17. ^ Library, India Office; Archer, Mildred (1977). Indian Popular Painting in the India Office Library. H.M. Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-11-580184-6.
  18. ^ Singh, K. S. (2008). People of India: Bihar (2 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
  19. ^ Singh, K. S. (2008). People of India: Bihar (2 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
  20. ^ Singh, Kumar Suresh (2008). People of India: Bihar, including Jharkhand (2 pts). Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-7046-303-0.
  21. ^ Singh, Santosh (2015-10-09). Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-93-85436-42-0.
  22. ^ Starza, O. M. (1993). The Jagannatha Temple at Puri: Its Architecture, Art, and Cult. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09673-8.
  23. ^ Monuments of Bihar. Department of Art, Culture & Youth, Government of Bihar. 2011.
  24. ^ Journal of Historical Research. Department of History, Ranchi University. 2007.
  25. ^ Misra, Bankey Bihari; Jha, Aditya Prasad (1963). Select Documents on Mahatma Gandhi's Movement in Champaran, 1917-18. Government of Bihar.
  26. ^ a b Jha, Lajwanti (2022-08-05). Vismrit Chehare (in Hindi). Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 978-93-5521-195-8.
  27. ^ Committee, Indian National Congress All India Congress (1971). Report of the General Secretaries. All India Congress Committee.
  28. ^ "The rise and rise of Nityanand Rai". The Indian Express. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  29. ^ "Captain Ashutosh Kumar receives posthumous Shaurya Chakra: A brief profile of braveheart". Hindustan Times. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2023-04-04.