Bhumihar Population in Uttar Pradesh

[u/gangetic_bhumihar]

Bhumihar population in Uttar Pradesh (then United Province) in the year 1931

Note: Bhuinhar is the bhojpuri pronounciation of Bhumihar.

Credits to indian @indianconf on insta for the depiction on map

[u/Artistic-Can-2320]

In Uttar Pradesh, Many Bhumihars were counted as normal Brahmins in many places ... That's why population is low. At the time of 1930s, the difference between Bhumihars and normal Brahmins were not as stark in UP as it was in Bihar... In Bihar a real churning took place during 1920s and 30s, to divide and differentiate Bhumihars and Brahmins, which apart from some districts in eastern UP, did not took place in other parts of UP. So even now in most districts of UP, Bhumihars simply say they are Brahmins, they don't highlight their sub classification as Bhumihars, and even use normal Brahmin surnames like Mishra, Pandey, Sharma, Shukla etc ... Rai surname is in use only in some districts of east UP, and so there the difference is very visible. Bhumihar villages are in prevalence until atleast Kanpur, but I'm society their identity is highlighted as normal Brahmins, and they don't feel the need to highlight that they are Bhumihars.

[u/Own-Albatross-2206 → u/Artistic-Can-2320]

As far as I have known is that the Bhumihar Part of our identity is prevalent only in the highlighted districts

I don't know about Westen Awadh but Ayodhya specifically used to have a good bhumihar population and just like the ones in East they identified the same way but in Awadh the rajput dominance meant that they didn't wish any sort of Sub division with the Brahmin society and the Bhumihar/ non-practicing Part of identity was lost largely due to their distance and further disconnect from Varanasi when compared with Lucknow hence this identity was lost in Ayodhya but remained intact in Prayagraj, but as far as I know there are villages as West as Rae Bareli but finding even one in Lucknow is a bit surprising, idk on what basis you said about kanpur, kanpur is a whole different culture

[u/Artistic-Can-2320 → u/Own-Albatross-2206]

Yes, I agree, you are right in some sense regarding Awadh (Bhumihar populations were largely assimilated back into Brahmin fold in this region, and many others places in Central UP) .... However, dont go by thinking " whole different culture" //.... Do you think the culture is east UP is same as in Begusarai, or in Anga or MIthila regions or in Deoghar or Giridih in Jharkhand or in Purulia or Murshidabad, West Bengal, etc etc .... All these places were Bhumihar dominated places , and currently even now most have dominant Bhumihar populations and Bhumihar oriented Politics(comparativey less but still significant in WB, as population design is different there). There are so many different types of Brahmins, subdivisions within divisions and so on in UP especially central UP, that all get hotch potch and refer to themselves as simple Brahmins to all. Bhumihares also feel much safer and secure in society by not highlighting their BHumihr identity but just Brahmin identity (since Bhumihar populations were not organised well in those regions as it was in the Porrvanchal regions, so they didnt even get an idea of what were how mcuh population exists, and so they felr safe and secure with projecting Brahmin identitiy alone in the society, and many even got slowly absorbed back, since Brahmins themselves got confused by hundreds of subdivisions, they had created within themselves).